Shell awards contracts to two Sabahan companies

From left to right: Shell Malaysia country chair and Upstream Malaysia senior vice president, Siti Sulaiman; SSPC general manager, Wong Kim Mun; Neopetro Sdn Bhd managing director Tn Hj Mahmud Mokti; and Jacqueline Rani Lucas, Neopetro Sdn Bhd executive director of corporate strategy and operations, alongside other dignitaries.

SABAH based companies – Neopetro Sdn Bhd and SAZMA Aviation, were awarded two separate asset operations contracts by the Sabah Shell Petroleum Company Ltd (SSPC).

Both contracts were signed by SSPC’s general manager, Wong Kim Mun, during the opening ceremony of the Sabah Oil, Gas and Energy Conference and Exhibition (SOGCE) in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

The signing ceremony was witnessed by Sabah’s Minister of Finance and chairman of state-owned SMJ Energy Sdn Bhd, Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun, together with Shell Malaysia’s country chair and Upstream Malaysia senior vice president, Siti Sulaiman.

Also present at this ceremony was Malaysia Petroleum Management (MPM), PETRONAS senior vice president, Datuk Bacho Pilong.

SSPC’s contract with Neopetro Sdn Bhd is for the provision of the accommodation vessel to house over 500 personnel during Gumusut-Kakap platform’s turnaround campaign this year.

With SAZMA Aviation, SSPC signed a contract for the provision of offshore helicopter services to safely transport personnel to and from offshore locations.

SAZMA Aviation Sdn Bhd is a subsidiary company of Sabah Air Aviation Sdn Bhd, a government-linked company under Sabah’s Ministry of Finance.

“Today’s contract signing ceremony demonstrates Shell’s commitment in contributing towards the socio-economic development of Sabah while attesting that our local companies have what it takes to compete in the Oil and Gas Services and Equipment (OGSE) industry.

“Sabahan companies saw a 40% increase in revenue from OGSE-related jobs from 2022 to 2023, and we aim to achieve an 80% Sabahan employment rate within the OGSE industry for the year.

“This requires concerted efforts between the Sabah government, OGSE stakeholders and contractors, and both state and private agencies,“ said Masidi.

Meanwhile, Siti emphasised that these contracts mark a significant milestone in Shell’s intent to further develop and support local Sabahan contractors through a collaborative, long-term approach that drives improvements and capability development in the local energy industry.

“At Shell, we are pleased to collaborate with the Sabah government and, PETRONAS through MPM, in driving strong participation of local players in the industry and support them in enhancing their capabilities,” she added.

Also in attendance at the contracts signing ceremony were the Sabah Oil and Gas Development Corporation Sdn Bhd (SOGDC) managing director and chief executive officer, Datuk Harun Ismail, and SOGCE organiser Dolly Jimayol.

Keywords: Sabah Oil, Gas and Energy Conference and Exhibition, Sabah Shell Petroleum Company Ltd, Shell, oil and gas, Malaysia