MSIAN OIL & GAS COMPANIES SHOULD CONSIDER WORKING WITH INTERNATIONAL PLAYERS - M'SIAN DPM

KUALA LUMPUR, June 2 (Bernama) -- Malaysian oil and gas companies should
consider working with international players to grow their capabilities,
especially in the area of the deep water sector and exploration services.

Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said by working together,
Malaysian companies could not only rely on their cutting edge technology, but
also gain strong market share regionally.

"As Malaysia is undertaking aggressive efforts and developing innovative
solutions to drive the reserve growth and get more from existing fields,
advanced technology and capability is crucial for us," he said in his keynote
address at the 13th Asian Oil,Gas and Petrochemical Exhibition 2011, here
Wednesday.

Muhyiddin said with Malaysia's offshore oil producing fields more mature
than those in other Southeast Asian countries, there is tremendous commercial
opportunities for maintenance and replacement of assets, in addition to
the development of new fields.

Under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP), Malaysia has set the
target of achieving a five per cent annual growth for the energy sector from
2010-2020, which translates into an increase of RM131.4 billion (US$43.8
billion) during the period.

"This is indeed an ambitious goal, particularly against a backdrop of the
natural decline of oil and gas production," he said.

He also said without significant efforts being made in upstream exploration,
development and production, oil and gas production is expected to decline by one
to two per cent annually, in the coming decade.

"Despite the declining conventional oil and gas resource base, there remains
significant potential in deeper and technically more complex fields.

"Future growth in Malaysia would come from initiatives such as deepwater
drilling, enhanced oil recovery and innovative approaches to the development of
small fields," he added.