Could you introduce MMCOG to our audience?

MMC Oil & Gas Engineering (MMCOG) started in 1984 as a joint venture between MMC Corporation and McDermott, to establish an engineering design consultancy in the country. A few years later, MMC bought the remaining shares and rebranded itself to MMC Oil & Gas Engineering Sdn. Bhd. Today, we are the only tier-one, premier design engineering consultancy company that is fully local, amidst other established internationally known design engineering consultant houses. As a contractor and umbrella contractor to major oil companies in Malaysia, namely Petronas, PTTEP, Shell, JX Nippon and other Petroleum Arrangement Contractors (PACs) for the last 39 years, to date, MMCOG has designed more than 35 wellhead platforms and five central processing platforms. However, in our 39 years of service, we are proud to say that we have been involved in most of the 300 offshore platforms and 30 onshore plants available in Malaysia, either in conceptual, basic design, FEED, detailed design, engineering fabrication support, hookup and commissioning or facilities improvement projects. Our core competency is engineering design of offshore facilities. We have 450 people and two offices; one in Kuala Lumpur and one in Kerteh, Terengganu, on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. MMCOG is ISO 9001 certified for Quality Management System since 1993 and we are proud to have reached over 13 million manhours without Lost Time Incident (LTI).

MMCOG and French engineering firm DORIS have established DORIS MMC in KL. What led to the JV?

This collaboration is mutually beneficial to both companies as DORIS wanted to establish an engineering hub in Malaysia that can increase their competitiveness in their bidding exercise, and MMCOG was seeking to upskill in low carbon solutions, CCUS, hydrogen and renewables, and alternative energy skill sets. DORIS MMC will be participating in international bidding whilst executing most of the activities in Malaysia. MMCOG are very aligned with DORIS in our vision to start small and slowly build the foundations of this new entity before gearing up for larger projects. Both DORIS and MMCOG strongly believe DORIS MMC Sdn. Bhd. will become a strong design engineering house internationally.

How is Malaysia, as a gas producing nation, grappling with the push for the energy transition?

To ensure that Malaysia satisfies the energy trilemma, which is security, sustainability and affordability, Malaysia cannot abruptly shift to full solar energy or wind energy because these alternatives are not sufficient to ensure energy security. Energy Policies must be bespoke to each country. Malaysia has declared, whilst supporting the climate change targets, that gas will continue to be the transition energy until an alternative is available. However, the low carbon solution in producing gas is emphasized.

How has the market in Malaysia changed over the last few years in correlation with the oil price, and how has MMCOG navigated this environment?

Between 2016 and 2020, the Oil & Gas industry went through a volatile period, with sudden variations in the price of crude that made the whole sector jittery, pushing many players out of the market. In 2020, and with the onset of the pandemic, MMCOG suffered double-digit losses, not unlike many other businesses. Thankfully for us, there were always anchor projects that kept us occupied during the difficult time. As a strategy, MMCOG stayed focused on our core competency, diversifying into other areas that are linked to our expertise, and prioritizing fiscal stability. One of the most drastic measures that we had to implement was a salary reduction of 35% to ensure survivability of the company and staff employment. 2021 was about stabilizing cashflow and, with everyone’s efforts, we managed to turn-around the company back to profit. In 2022, the outlook was getting better, and in September, MMCOG managed to secure an inflow of multiple consecutive projects. The oil and gas industry landscape improved. MMCOG was successful in multiple biddings.

It is anticipated that the oil and gas contractors, fabricators, equipment and service providers will be busy in the near future. Petronas recently posted record profits, and Rystad Energy in their January 2023 Press Release is predicting internationally Oil and Gas spending will be circa US$920 billion per annum for 2022-2028. The industry looks robust for the next few years.