ENVIRONMENTAL activists have warned that Petronas’ new oil and gas exploration project at the Langkasuka basin, near Penang, is a threat to marine biodiversity, the livelihoods of fishing communities, and tourism.

Greenpeace and Rimba Watch, in a joint statement today, said the project is also inconsistent with climate science and detracts from Malaysia’s mitigation responsibilities.

The project was announced by Petronas last November. It said it was undertaking an offshore multi-client 2D seismic survey to explore and map the hydrocarbon potential in the basin north of the Malacca Strait.

The national oil producer said the first exploration probe is expected in the next three years to “test this exciting new geological play”.

The statement said the Langkasuka basin was 30km from Penang Island and 20km from Langkawi – both popular tourist spots – leaving them vulnerable to the high risk of oil spills.

The groups added that Malaysia had faced 130 oil spill cases, averaging at least 14 oil spills a year from 2014 to 2022, based on reports from Environment Department.

“The frequency of these incidents point to the threat of exploration and extraction activities in the Langkasuka basin to coastal marine biodiversity, income for fishing communities and the tourism economy.

“Reports have shown that oil spills can remain for years in the sediment and marine environment, causing long-term effects to marine biodiversity,” they said, adding that the recovery periods of marine ecosystems affected by oil spills can take up more than 10 years for mangroves and 30 years for coral reefs.

They  said past oil spill incidents had caused losses to fishing communities.An oil spill in Tanjung Balau, Johor had caused the fishing community to lose their income and damaged RM8,000 worth of their fish traps, they added.

They said the oil and gas exploration was inconsistent with climate science, saying there is a general consensus that developing new oil and gas fields is “incompatible” with staying below the 1.5C climate threshold that the countries who signed the Paris Agreement have agreed to try to do.

They warned that if climate policies do not change, including policies to continue using gas as a transition fuel, the world can expect the the climate to rise 3.2C, more than double the 1.5C target.

“This will result in irreversible climate disasters at an unprecedented scale, including uninhabitable temperatures, major cities underwater, widespread water shortages and the extinction of a million species of plants and animals.”

The two environment watchdog groups said Petronas does not have a credible decarbonisation strategy.

“In fact, Petronas’ transition and decarbonisation strategies have a track record of performing poorly in accordance with international guidelines,” they said.

They noted that the World Benchmarking Alliance, which scores corporate transition strategies, awarded Petronas’s strategy a rating of 13.5/100 in 2023.

“We urge the prime minister, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability and the Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation to work together with Petronas to develop a credible transition strategy based on sound methodologies and in accordance with international best practice on net-zero.

“This strategy should be committed to full transparency, accountability and a clear pathway towards the complete divestment of all existing and planned fossil fuel projects, including natural gas. – April 20, 2024.