State finance minister Masidi Manjun said Sabahan companies must rise to the challenge by meeting Petronas’s stringent standards and forging strategic partnerships that unlock new capabilities and experiences.

Masidi, who is chairman of the state-owned oil and gas company SMJ Energy Sdn Bhd, said contracts awarded to Sabahan businesses surged to over RM2 billion in 2024 from the RM613 million recorded in 2021.

“These include achieving a 50-100% increase in local jobs awarded to Sabahan companies and a 50-100% increase in the number of contracts held by Sabahan firms,” he said in a statement here today.

His statement was in conjunction with the unveiling of the Kinabalu Activity Outlook, a three-year forecast detailing upstream, downstream, gas, and maritime activities in Sabah.

Jointly launched by the state government and Petronas on Feb 28, the plan provides insights into opportunities with Petronas, its subsidiaries, and other petroleum arrangement contractors.