KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 19): National oil firm Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) will be offering 13 offshore exploration blocks in Malaysia at its upcoming Malaysia Bid Round (MBR) 2021 launch on Feb 26.

In a statement today, Petronas said the annual bid exercise with the theme "Grow your Energy Portfolio with Us" aims to attract investors with unique capabilities to unlock the full potential of the hydrocarbon resources in Malaysia.

The oil and gas company also highlighted that the bid includes six discovered fields to incentivise investors to undertake more extensive exploration activities within those blocks.

“This year’s MBR also features the offering of four deepwater blocks adjacent to the coast of Sarawak and Sabah which saw prominent exploration discoveries in recent years,” it said.

Petronas senior vice president of Malaysia Petroleum Management Mohamed Firouz Asnan noted that this year’s MRB will feature significant enhancements which include larger block areas coupled with flexible bidding options and low entry costs.

“We will also be offering relatively new fiscal terms to be applied in the Production Sharing Contracts (PSC) such as Enhanced Profitability (EPT) for the shallow water blocks, the Late Life Assets (LLA) and Small Field Assets (SFA) which are designed to match the risk and rewards of the investments with the type of assets available.

“These terms have been formulated based on the feedback from industry players, taking into account market conditions, further strengthening Malaysia’s position as the oil and gas hub in a growing and thriving market of South East Asia,” he said.

He pointed out that Malaysia offers good network connectivity by way of established world-class infrastructure which enables ease of monetisation, besides improved fiscal terms.

The MBR 2021 launch event will be held virtually in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and live-streamed to three different markets, namely North America, the Asia Pacific, as well as United Kingdom and Europe.

The group said the bid exercise offers potential investors with different opportunities ranging from exploration blocks, discovered resources to late life assets as well as study opportunities to grow their energy portfolio and create value.

"Whilst MBR this year focuses on exploration blocks, the opportunities around late life assets and small fields are made available progressively throughout the year," it said.