KUALA LUMPUR: Three associations representing the interests of the Malaysian oil and gas industry recently revealed they had engaged with Petronas to mitigate and address the current dire situation and circumstances affecting the industry.
Brought about by an unprecedented downturn due to the geopolitics of big oil producing countries, which has been amplified by the threat and spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, the associations — The Malaysian Oil & Gas Services Council (MOGSC), Malaysia Offshore Support Vessels (OSV) Owners' Association (MOSVA), and the Malaysian Offshore Contractors Association (MOCA) — had a video conference meeting with the top leadership of Petronas last month.
During the meeting, the three associations representing over 500 companies and a workforce of 60,000, shared with Petronas the state of the industry and the challenges the companies were facing.
Among the main points discussed and presented were to seek for guidance and assurance from Petronas on the sustainability and stability of the industry's ecosystem to survive in this challenging time, clarity for the industry to move forward and guiding principles in working with the 'New Normal'.
The Malaysian Oil & Gas Engineering Council (MOGEC) also provided industry related inputs during a pre-discussion session with all three associations prior to the dialogue with Petronas.
As more and more oil companies around the world are reacting to the current situation, the associations, on behalf of their members, thanked Petronas for their assurance to the industry of their intention to maintain the domestic CAPEX (Capital expenditures) this year.
Besides presenting to Petronas the strong need to maintain existing awarded contracts and pricing as it was already negotiated at the backdrop of a depressed market ambiance, the associations also made recommendations for considerations, in ensuring the survival and sustainability of the Malaysian Oil and Gas ecosystem.
The recommendations included the need to do a joint government and industry cost optimisation exercise at a more holistic level across the whole ecosystem relevant to the oil and gas industry.
The other imperative subject that needs to be reviewed is for the industry to be less reliant on the global supply chain in order to become more resilient against external restriction conditions and also to become more competitive in the long run.
Both Petronas and the associations agreed that it was beneficial to continue having these dialogues to update the matured Malaysian oil and gas industry and provide the right information to the market, which is needed to effectively manage the challenges ahead.
"On the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) that was announced by the Prime Minister, we support the Malaysian Government's directive to start opening up the economic sectors.
The oil and gas industry has always put Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) as our utmost priority in our operations.
"We foresee that it will not be an issue for the contractors to include the additional Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and protocols to account for the effects of the Covid-19. In fact, we have been operational since the first phase of the MCO, and we stand behind the government and the health ministry on their policies, and would also like to thank the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) for all their assistance for our members to operate during the MCO," said a senior MOGSC representative.
MOGSC, MOSVA and MOCA also jointly expressed their deepest gratitude to all the frontliners in the fight against the Covid-19, for all their sacrifices and putting themselves on the line for the benefit of all their fellow Malaysians, in coming together to flatten the curve and realising "Kita Mesti Menang".