The cost of developing the field is estimated to be anywhere between US$130mil and US$200mil, after taking into account the required capital and operating expenditures for the project. It is believed that Petronas will announce the winners for the third round of RSCs as early as this month. “Petronas is close to making the award, subject to certain conditions being fullfilled,” said one source, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the contract. Scomi Energy will take up a 30% stake in the venture, with Octanex having a 50% share. Vestigo Petroleum Sdn Bhd, a unit of Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd, would own the remaining 20% equity interest in the Ophir job, the source said. If the RSC award to Scomi Energy materialises, it will be the first RSC win for the group. A glance through Scomi Energy’s latest financial statements shows that the group is in a much better shape than a year ago. The company, formerly known as Scomi Marine Bhd, reported a net profit of RM48.59mil, or 2 sen a share, on revenue of RM651.2mil for the six-month ended Sept 30. The stock was last traded at 80 sen yesterday. Its parent company Scomi Group Bhd pulled out of a deal to develop the Tembikai and Chenang clusters last year due to changes in its management. The Tembikai and Chenang fields are now being developed by Vestigo, which was set up in July by Petronas to undertake development and production activities from small, marginal and mature fields in Malaysia and abroad. It is unclear how many RSCs will be awarded by Petronas this time around. Petronas launched its RSC licensing programme in early 2011 with the award of the Berantai cluster to SapuraKencana Petroleum Bhd and London Stock Exchange-listed Petrofac. It was reported that the first RSC has been producing since October 2012. The second round of RSC licensing in 2012 saw two more contracts awarded. The Balai cluster was awarded to Dialog Group Bhd and its Australian partner Roc Oil, while the development of Kapal, Banang and Meranti (KBM) cluster went to Petra Energy Bhd and Coastal Energy Co. Marginal fields in Malaysia are defined as fields with reserves of less than 30 million barrels of recoverable oil or oil equivalent. Malaysia has about 106 marginal fields containing about 580 million barrels of oil. Petronas has identified around 25 marginal fields to be awarded under the RSC licensing programme. However, not much is known on how the RSC programme actually works. Based on publicly available information, up-front capital investment and initial costs are borne by the contractors, which are reimbursed after the pre-development phase or the production of first oil. Contractors will also receive remuneration fees, subject to certain targets being met and at a pre-agreed ceiling. International companies interested to participate in the RSC programme must team up with a local partner.
uld....
OXX Price at posting:
13.0¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held