Dialog ... May11

Dialog was still bidding with potential Australian partner Roc Oil Co Ltd for contracts pertaining to Petroliam Nasional Bhd's (Petronas) marginal oilfield developments.

Roc Oil was its business partner and was presently tendering for upstream oil and gas prospects in Malaysia with the possibility of a joint venture between the two companies if the tender was successful.

To date, Dialog and Roc Oil are still in the bidding process and have not entered into a joint-venture agreement and neither parties have received any letter of intent for marginal oilfield projects from Petronas.

Earlier it was reported that Dialog Group Bhd and its Australian partner Roc Oil are said to be on the verge of bagging the marginal oilfield projects from an oil major for Balai and Bentara fields, located off the coast of Sarawak.

It is learnt that the two companies are in the process of finalising the risk service contract (RSC) with Petronas. If the RSC materialises it will mark Roc Oil’s Malaysian debut and Dialog’s first upstream O&G venture and second Economic Transformation Programme job.

In January 2011, Petronas awarded two clusters of marginal oilfields, Sepat and Berantai, to a consortium comprising London-listed Petrofac Energy Development Sdn Bhd, Sapura Energy Ventures (a wholly-owned unit of SapuraCrest Petroleum Bhd) and Kencana Energy Sdn Bhd (subsidiary of Kencana Petroleum Bhd).

Two more clusters of marginal oilfields were open for bidding. Although details are scarce, the marginal oilfield development contracts could be a boon for Dialog.

In terms of financials, Dialog posted a net profit of RM69.09 million or 3.52 sen a share on the back of RM532.34 million in revenue for its six months ended December 2010. In contrast to the previous corresponding period, net profit gained 24.35% despite revenue slipping 8.91%.

As at end-December 2010, Dialog had cash and cash equivalents amounting to RM280.59 million and its shareholders funds stood at RM553.44 million. Dialog had short-term debt amounting to RM48.02 million, while its long-term borrowings were RM22.09 million.

Dialog will continue to expand its scope and capability for provision of expertise services to the upstream sector of the domestic oil and gas industry … Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the group is optimistic that its performance will be favourable for the financial year ending June 30, 2011.”

If Dialog and its partner win the contracts, it will join the ranks of Kencana and SapuraCrest, awarded the first marginal field developments with Petrofac Ltd. The two Malaysian companies each has 25% in the venture while Petrofac holds the remaining 50%.

Dialog, partnering the Johor government and Vopak Asia Pte Ltd (part of the giant Royal Vopak Group), had earlier secured the RM5 billion award to build the deepwater petroleum terminal in Pengerang, Johor.

The terminal is to have a storage capacity of five million cu m. In June 2009, the agreement was signed to conduct a detailed feasibility study and an environmental impact assessment to develop an independent deepwater storage terminal for crude oil and petroleum products with port facilities capable of handling very large crude carriers with a water depth of up to 26m.

Meanwhile Dialog has received the Johor government’s approval to reclaim and use the site in Pengarang for the proposed RM5 billion independent deepwater petroleum terminal.

Its unit Dialog Pengerang Sdn Bhd (DPgSB) had signed a development cum joint venture agreement (DJVA) with the Johor government and the State Secretary, Johor (Inc). The DJVA grants the right to start the reclamation work and the use of the reclaimed land for the construction of the independent deepwater petroleum terminal.

The independent deepwater petroleum terminal will serve as a springboard for other industries to be developed and in line with that the Johor State Government will expand its Master Plan to develop Southeast Johor into a regional oil and gas hub.

The terminal will be developed on contiguous onshore and seabed land located between Tanjung Ayam and Tanjung Kapal, Pengerang, with harbour port, jetty and other marine facilities with water depth up to 26 meters.

The terminal would be capable to handling ultra large crude carriers and very large crude carriers and other vessels, and with tankage facilities for the handling, storage, processing and distribution of crude oil, petroleum, petrochemicals and chemical products in Tanjung Ayam and Tanjung Kapal, Pengerang.

The combined investment in the project is estimated at RM5 billion over a seven-year period. The Project is an Entry Point Project under the Malaysian government’s National Key Economic Areas and part of the Economic Transformation Programme.

Its net profit for the third quarter ended March 31, 2011 rose 20.4% to RM38.34 million from RM31.84 million a year earlier, due mainly to higher contribution from its engineering and construction, and plant maintenance activities in Malaysia and Singapore.

Revenue rose to RM301.16 million from RM282.77 million. Earnings per share were 1.95 sen while net assets per share was 28.46 sen.

Dialog declared a interim single-tier cash dividend  of 1.3 sen per share in respect of the financial year ending June 30, 2011.

For the nine months ended March 31, Dialog’s net profit rose to RM107.43 million from RM87.4 million in 2010 on the back of revenue RM833.49 million.

The provision of specialist product and services for its international operation also recorded better performance in the third quarter. In addition, the commencement of operation by Langsat Terminal (One) Sdn Bhd in Tanjung Langsat, Johor in September 2009 for its Phase 1 and in April 2010 for its Phase 2, had also contributed positively to the group’s financial results.

It would continue to grow its core businesses with recurring income, such as, its specialist products and services, and plant maintenance services while at the same time focusing resources on the expansion of its logistics business.

It had obtained approval from the Department of Environment for the detailed environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the Pengerang Independent Deepwater Terminal project and expects to commence the construction work soon after receiving approvals from all the partners and other relevant authorities.

Following the recent acquisition of Fitzroy Engineering Group Limited, one of New Zealand’s largest heavy fabrication and multi-disciplined engineering company with about 400 employees, it was able to take on bigger fabrication jobs and grow this core business.

The company and its international partners were presently tendering for upstream oil and gas prospects in Malaysia.

The group will continue to strengthen its presence in existing markets while penetrating new ones internationally.