Sitting on oil and gas goldmine
- SOGCE ADMIN
- Jul 7, 2025
- 2 min read
Published on: Monday, July 07, 2025
By: Sherell Jeffrey
Kota Kinabalu: Sabah is sitting on a goldmine of oil and gas hydrocarbons that could make it Malaysia’s next big energy centre, promising thousands of jobs and billions in investments to the State.
Invited panel speakers at the recent Sabah Oil, Gas and Energy Conference and Exhibition 2025 (SOGCE) Executive Plenary Session are excited about the State’s future.
“I am very excited to hear about the Block 3K discovery and potentially could be as big as KK or even GK,” said Yinson Energy Chief Executive Officer Datuk Mohamed Sabri Mohamed Zain, referring to major existing Malaysian oil complexes.
“Because it is a deep water and it opens up opportunities for companies like Yinson to do a deep water base and 2,000 meters is okay for us,” he said.
For the record, KK refers to the Kinabalu Oil and Gas Complex, an operating oil and gas complex in Malaysia and GK refers to the Gumusut-Kakap deepwater field, also located off the coast of Sabah.
The discovery is more than just oil reserves, it signals Sabah’s emergence as a serious player in Malaysia’s energy industry, particularly in challenging deep water operations that require sophisticated technology and expertise.
What makes Sabah’s transformation even more notable is how strategic planning from years ago is now bearing fruit.
“More than five years ago, I was involved in the development of the Sabah Gas Masterplan. So that is what started the ZLNG project,” said Senior Vice President of Malaysia Assets and Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd Chief Executive Officer Hazli Sham Kassim.
“I am happy to note that the project is off the ground ... God willing, in 2027, we are going to have the silhouette of the floater,” he said.
The comprehensive Sabah Gas Strategy is a collaborative effort between Petronas, local companies Sabah Energy Corporation (SEC) and SMJ Energy, showing how strategic partnerships can unlock massive potential.
SOGCE’s Executive Plenary Session also challenged common assumptions about energy development, promoting the concept of energy expansion rather than simply replacing one energy source with another.
“For the last 100 years, coal has been around. We never phase out any energy system. So it has to be energy expansion,” said Hazli.
“If you look at, in terms of countries around the world, currently close to 200 countries. Twenty per cent are developed countries they are using about half of the primary energy that the world supplies.
“So imagine, if all these countries become developed, you need more and more energy,” he said.
This perspective shows the massive scale of global energy needs, with fossil fuels still accounting for over 80 per cent of worldwide energy consumption despite decades of renewable energy development
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