KUALA LUMPUR: Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd' s unit Hibiscus Oil & Gas Malaysia Limited (HML) has been awarded a 65 per cent Participating Interest (PI) and operatorship in a Production Sharing Contract (PSC) by Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas).

The remaining PI is held by PetronasCarigali Sdn Bhd.

The effective date of the PSC is July 1, 2024 with a contract duration of 24 years.

The PSC consists of four Discovered Resource Opportunities (DRO), namely Pertang, Kenarong, Noring and Bedong fields, which are located in shallow waters between 65 and 75 metres depth offshore the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

The DRO Cluster is located to the south, and within tie-back distance of the PM3 Commercial Arrangement Area PSC which is operated by HML.

"We are very honoured that PETRONAS, through Malaysia Petroleum Management, has awarded the PSC to Hibiscus and our partner PETRONAS Carigali. It provides a great opportunity to maximise the utilisation of the readily available gas network, and to continue to meet the growing gas demand in Peninsular Malaysia. We are excited to develop these discovered resources on an optimised schedule,"HML country head, Malaysia & Vietnam, Dr Pascal Hos said.

Trading in Hibiscus Petroleum's shares were halted pending the announcement. It will resume at 10am.

It last traded at RM2.27 a share, giving it a market capitalisation of RM1.8 billion.