MOF DENIES CLAIM THAT PETRONAS TAKES 95 PCT OF BORNEO’S OIL REVENUE

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 11 (Bernama) -- The Ministry of Finance (MOF) has denied claims that Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) has taken up to 95 per cent of the petroleum revenue from Sabah and Sarawak.

Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan said that Petronas’s profit is far lower than 10 per cent once operating costs, exploration capital, and production capital, as well as sales tax, are taken into account.

“The petroleum industry is developed through production sharing contracts (PSCs) between Petronas and investors.

“In any form of PSC, Petronas is required to make fixed cash payments of five per cent to the Federal Government and five per cent to the state government based on gross production.

“After taking those 10 per cent payments into account, around 80 per cent of revenue is used to cover production costs, including operating costs, exploration capital and production capital,” he said during a Special Chamber session in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Amir Hamzah also noted that the remaining roughly 10 per cent is the gross allocation to be shared between Petronas and the investors after tax.

“State governments also impose a five per cent sales tax on petroleum products, which is not included in these figures,” he added.

Amir Hamzah was responding to Chiew Choon Man (PH–Miri) regarding claims that Petronas takes up to 95 per cent of petroleum revenue from Sabah and Sarawak, while those states have received only five per cent in royalties over the past 50 years.

-- BERNAMA