The national oil company said the agreements mark key milestones in a shared commitment to advancing Sabah’s energy landscape through collaborative, sustainable, and value-driven development.
“The event represented a key advancement in Sabah’s energy development with the official document handover of the Sabah Gas Strategy, an initiative by both Petronas and the state government,” it said in a statement.
MPM senior vice-president Bacho Pilong said these achievements reaffirm Petronas’s enduring partnership with Sabah, built on mutual trust and a shared vision to responsibly unlock the full potential of the state’s energy resources.
Under the advisory of the Sabah Joint Coordination Committee, the strategy was developed by a joint task force comprising Petronas, SMJ Energy Sdn Bhd, Sabah Energy Corporation Sdn Bhd, the Energy Commission of Sabah as well as the state industrial development and entrepreneurship ministry.
Another highlight was the signing of the technical evaluation agreement (TEA) for the Layang-Layang Basin off the coast of Sabah, a frontier basin spanning about 44,500 sq km.
The agreement, signed with ConocoPhillips Malaysia New Ventures Ltd and Pertamina Hulu Energi, paves the way for comprehensive subsurface studies ranging from regional geological assessments to detailed prospectivity analysis.
“This highlights Petronas’s continued commitment to activate frontier basins and advancing exploration efforts in this promising area,” Petronas said.
The company also inked a memorandum of understanding with Dialog Resources Sdn Bhd to further advance the development of the Mutiara Cluster, located off the coast of Sabah’s east coast.
Offered under the Malaysia Bid Round 2025, the Mutiara Cluster small field asset production sharing contract was awarded to Dialog Resources in June.
The cluster offers an opportunity to monetise discovered resources with a cost effective, optimised development plan that will see Dialog Resources repurpose existing materials and equipment, drawing on past insights to accelerate first gas delivery.
Petronas is also investing in seismic data acquisition, including off Sabah’s east coast, to enhance basin understanding and fast-track exploration.