DPM Fadillah: Petros-Petronas commercial agreement negotiations continuing (Video)

KUCHING (Dec 16): A commercial agreement between Petroleum Sarawak (Petros) and Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) would benefit not only the country, but also the business sector, said Dato Sri Fadillah Yusof.

The Deputy Prime Minister said he hoped the commercial agreement between the two parties would be finalised soon.

“Hopefully there will be an agreement, as formal correspondence has already taken place. We are now awaiting both parties to reach a mutually acceptable solution,” he said when met at the 2026 Sarawak Budget Conference here.

Fadillah had said during the forum that both Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg are looking into the matter.

“If you go along by what the law dictates, it will be a longer and also complex settlement because we have to go through the court process and so on. At the end of the day, it may not be win-win. It could be a lose-lose for all parties.

“So, that’s why we have agreed for both Petros and Petronas to sit down and look into all the areas that they can work together. At the end of the day, it will benefit not only the nation, but also the business community,” he said.

Separately, Fadillah said the date for the next Technical Committee of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 Implementation Action Council (MTPMA63) meeting will only be set next year.

Last month, the High Court here, which was hearing a bank guarantee dispute between Petros and Petronas, was told that the Federal government had conceded that the Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUN) has the authority to pass the Distribution of Gas Ordinance 2016 (DGO).

State Legal Counsel Dato Sri JC Fong informed the Court that Senior Federal Counsel (SFC) Ahmad Hanir Hambaly @ Arwi had conceded that there is no dispute regarding the state’s authority to enact a law regulating gas distribution in Sarawak.

According to Fong, the SFC stated that the Vesting Order is clear.

The Vesting Order refers to the Borneo States (Legislative Powers) Order 1963, which extended the legislative powers of the State Legislature to include electricity and the DGO.

Fong said that by virtue of this Order, executive power over gas distribution is also vested in the State.