RimbaWatch said that the Luconia Shoals National Park (LSNP) was gazetted by the Sarawak government as a “totally protected area” in 2018, with premier Abang Johari Openg declaring that it would be out of bounds for oil and gas exploration.

However, RimbaWatch said it had found that nearly 100% of the LSNP was located within seven active oil and gas blocks.

It also alleged that there were 31 wells and eight gas fields in the park, as well as seven existing platforms for oil and gas production within these blocks.

It said at least five gas pipelines ran through the LSNP.

In a statement, RimbaWatch director Adam Farhan said that instead of being out of bounds for oil and gas exploration, as promised by the state government, at least 14.3 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves were being commercialised within the LSNP.

This exploration would emit nearly one billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, he said.

“We question how the environment department could approve oil and gas projects within Malaysia’s largest national park,” he said, adding that WWF-Malaysia had described the site as one of the “richest marine habitats in Sarawak”.

He added that the International Court of Justice had specifically ruled that states which approve new fossil fuel projects are in breach of their duty under international law to prevent significant harm to the environment.

“RimbaWatch is calling for the appeals board of the environment department to revoke all EIAs for oil and gas projects in the LSNP which were approved after the park was gazetted,” he said.