Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department (Law, State-Federal Relations and Project Monitoring) Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali said the CSA gave Sarawak regulatory power to manage oil and gas resources within its boundaries. – File photo
KUCHING (Aug 13): The signing of the commercial settlement agreement (CSA) between the Sarawak government and Petronas last year was done on the premise that the federal Petroleum Development Act (PDA) 1974 and Sarawak’s Oil Mining Ordinance (OMO) 1958 shall co-exist.
In stating this, Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department (Law, State-Federal Relations and Project Monitoring) Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali said the CSA gave Sarawak regulatory power to manage oil and gas resources within its boundaries.
“Meaning that we (state government and Petronas) shall recognise both laws because without the recognition of OMO 1958, we won’t reach the agreement,” she said at a virtual seminar streamed live on Facebook yesterday.
The seminar, titled ‘Navigating the Impacts of The Malaysia Agreement 1963 on National Integrity’, was hosted by the Sarawak Unity Foundation (YPS).
Sharifah Hasidah said under the OMO 1958, the state government will be able to regulate the operations of oil and gas in Sarawak via Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (Petros).
“Petros, a Sarawak-owned oil and gas company, allows us to participate more in the oil and gas industry. Petronas for the first time agreed to give regulatory power to Petros to manage oil and gas on shore within the boundaries of Sarawak,” she said.
Towards this end, she said Sarawak will be entitled to a greater share of revenue from oil and gas produced in the state.
She added such constitutional right to regulate both on- and off-shore mining in Sarawak was a “crucial success” in recovering the state’s rights which had been eroded over the years.
“Greater opportunity will be accorded to the state through Petros’ on- and off- shore mining. During the signing of the CSA, we also mentioned that Sarawak’s right to impose the State Sales Tax on petroleum products was non-negotiable,” she said.
The assistant minister believed this would generate a stable and business-friendly investment climate to attract investors to the oil and gas industry in Sarawak.