KOTA KINABALU: Sabah-based oil and gas companies can continue to apply for the ongoing Oil & Gas, Services and Equipment (OSGE) development grant offered by Malaysia Petroleum Resources Corporation (MPRC).

Since the launching of OSGE Blueprint, MPRC president Mohd Yazid Ja’afar said that they had rolled out 26 out of 31 initiatives.

Mohd Yazid, who is also the chief executive officer for the agency under the Prime Minister’s Department Economic Planning Unit, said the OGSE Development Grant meant to promote technology adoption among companies was one of the initiatives. 

“To date, we have approved 36 companies, of which one of them, with a total approved grant of RM250,000, has operations in Sabah. We welcome more applications for the Grant from Sabah companies,” he said during the welcoming speech of the 2022 OSGE Roadshow at Sabah International Convention Centre here. 

Present was Sabah Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun. 

During a press conference, when asked why there was only one Sabah-based company awarded a grant, Mohd Yazid said the reasons could be lack of awareness of such initiative among Sabah companies or the people have yet to meet the requirement. 

Meanwhile, he said MPRC applauded the Sabah State Government for its launch of the Sabah Gas Master Plan, which paves the way for natural gas to play a role in the energy transition. 

“We are also optimistic that the recent investments announced in the Sipitang Oil and Gas Industrial Park provide an opportunity to promote the participation of local players and contribute to the State’s development goals.”

Sabah’s extraction of crude oil and condensates accounted for RM15.46 billion of Sabah’s gross domestic product in 2021. 

At present, there are 369 Sabah OGSE companies serving the oil and gas value chain.  

In addition, data from OGSE100, MPRC’s ranking and analysis of the country’s top 100 OGSE companies, listed two Sabah companies in its FY2021 report.