PETRONAS reached out to vendors in Sabah and Labuan as part of its continuous effort to attract and boost local participation in the oil and gas activities, particularly in the Oil & Gas Services and Equipment (OGSE) sector.

The one-day event, called “Sabah and Labuan FT Vendor Empowerment Programme”, was officiated by Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Ignatius Darell Leiking.

The event featured a series of sharing on a broad array of vendor-related programmes by PETRONAS, including licensing, and vendor development offerings from industry enablers.

Participants were also able to get more information on how to be licensed or registered with PETRONAS and its subsidiaries including its retailer network.

Also present at the event were some Petroleum Arrangement Contactors (PACs), operating in Sabah and Labuan such as Shell, Kebabangan Petroleum Operating Company (KPOC) and Repsol Oil and Gas Malaysia Ltd, as well as anchor contractors such as Asian Supply Base, Serba Dinamik, Sapura Energy, and Uzma, providing insights on business opportunities.

In his speech Datuk Darell urged Sabah and Labuan entrepreneurs to take the opportunity to enhance their capability and competitiveness to move forward and take on strategic responsibility in contributing towards the development of the State.

“Local vendors are encouraged to collaborate to complement each other’s strengths and capabilities and widen their offerings or work together with vendors outside Sabah as well as with international players to compete and grow,” he added.

Senior Vice President of PETRONAS Corporate Strategy, Mohamed Firouz Asnan said PETRONAS has been proactively nurturing local entrepreneurs through procurement-related clinics such as licensing and registration, tender bid clinics and showcasing offerings and incentives provided by industry enablers. PETRONAS also holds industry dialogues regularly to share on PETRONAS activity outlook and development, to prepare vendors in their budget and business development planning.

“From base scopes to more complex ones, these vendors play crucial roles in providing products and services to PETRONAS operations offshore and onshore including those operated by PACs such as PETRONAS Carigali, Shell, KPOC, and Repsol. In the downstream sector, vendors also provide services at 69 PETRONAS service stations, as well as at PETRONAS Chemicals Methanol Sdn Bhd, PETRONAS Chemicals Fertiliser Sabah Sdn Bhd in Sipitang, and PETRONAS Gas,” he added.

PETRONAS’ role in developing the local OGSE sector goes a long way since its establishment more than 40 years ago. Towards this end, PETRONAS’ growth has been matched by the overall O&G industry, having more than 4,000 registered service providers comprising international oil companies, independents, services and manufacturing companies that support the needs of the O&G value chain.

Of the more than 4,000 registered service providers, about 400 are from Sabah and Labuan. The key objective of vendor engagement programme is to attract new entrants into the industry to grow their base.

Also present at the event were Permanent Secretary of Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry Datuk Datu Rosmadi Datu Sulai, representing State Secretary Datuk Hashim Paijan as well as Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Trade and Industry Datuk Madiyem Layapan, and vice president of PETRONAS Group Procurement Samsudin Miskon.

Representatives from all appointed enabler agencies including Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad, SIRIM Berhad, Centre for Entrepreneur Development and Research Sdn Bhd, Malaysia Investment Development Authority, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation Sdn Bhd, MIMOS Berhad, National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Talent Corporation Malaysia Berhad, and Association of Chartered Certified Accountants Malaysia were also present to give first-hand information to those who attended the event.

These agencies are responsible in providing capability-building including access to finance, coaching and training, incubation facilities, consultancy in research and development, quality certification and grant facilitation.

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