KOTA KINABALU: Sabah and Petronas have signed a landmark agreement to work together to jointly develop the oil and gas industry in the state.

       With this Commercial Collaboration Agreement (CCA) signed, the state government also announced the incorporation of the state's wholly-owned oil and gas company - SMJ Petroleum Sdn Bhd.

       Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor (pic) said the signing of the CCA marks a new era in Sabah's oil and gas industry while the incorporation of SMJ Petroleum Sdn Bhd is expected to help turn the state into a strong player in the oil and gas industry.

       He said SMJ Petroleum is among the state government’s efforts to hold on to its legal rights in this industry and see Sabah benefit more from this industry.

       He said the CCA will see Sabah seek guidance from Petronas to develop oil and gas, while creating a more inclusive environment for the oil and gas industry in Sabah including offshore and onshore.

       Hajiji thanked the CCA technical committee led by Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun for the state government together Petronas’ Malaysia Petroleum Management senior vice-president Mohamed Firouz Asnan along with Sabah-born Datuk Sri Lim Haw Kuang, who is a former Shell Malaysia chairman, for their efforts to see to the materialisation of the CCA.

       For this matter, he said several committees under the collaboration namely annual strategic dialogue (ASD), joint coordination committee (JCC) and sub-committees in the upstream, domestic gas supply and equity investments in liquefied natural gas (LNG) and downstream businesses have been set up.

       As Chief Minister, Hajiji will be jointly-heading the ASD with Petronas chairman Tan Sri Mohd Bakke Salleh.

       ASD is the highest discussion platform that will ensure Sabah fully benefits from the CCA in the future, he said.