THE Ministry of Finance (MoF) has denied claims that Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) takes up to 95 percent of petroleum revenue from Sabah and Sarawak, said Finance Minister II, Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan.
On the contrary, he said that the profit earned by Petronas was far lower than 10 percent after taking into account operating costs, exploration and oil production capital as well as sales tax.
"The petroleum industry is developed through production sharing contracts (PSCs) between Petronas and investors.
"In any form of PSC, Petronas is required to make a fixed cash payment of five percent to the Federal government and five percent to the state governments based on gross production.
"After taking into account the 10 percent payment, about 80 percent of the revenue is used to cover production costs including operating costs, exploration and production capital," he said during a Special Chamber session at the Dewan Rakyat today as reported by Bernama.
Amir Hamzah said the remaining about 10 percent is a gross allocation to be shared between Petronas and investors after tax.
"The state government also imposes a five per cent sales tax on petroleum products which are not included in this figure," he said.
He said this in response to a question from Chiew Choon Man (PH-Miri) regarding allegations that Petronas took up to 95 per cent of petroleum revenue from Sabah and Sarawak while the states only received five per cent royalties over the past 50 years. - November 11, 2025
