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Kota Kinabalu: French multinational integrated energy and petroleum company, TotalEnergies, is targeting Sabah as a key market for renewable energy expansion as its first Malaysian solar project, a 50-megawatt facility in Peninsular Malaysia, gets under way.
TotalEnergies EP Malaysia Managing Director cum Country Chair Jerome Saniez said the company sees Sabah as having the right conditions to support its ambition to develop one gigawatt of renewable energy across Malaysia.
“Our first project is starting now in peninsula, this first baby step of 50 megawatt solar that is benefiting from a regulatory environment that is favourable for us as a player and I think Sabah has what it takes,” he said at the 13th Sabah Oil, Gas and Energy Conference and Exhibition’s (SOGCE) Executive Plenary Session held at the Sabah International Convention Centre.
The event is organised by Midas Events Management and supported by the State Government and Sabah Convention Bureau. Daily Express is the media partner.
Jerome said Sabah has the four prerequisites for any successful renewable energy project, namely, land with adequate resources, proximity and quality of the power grid, a supportive regulatory environment and a committed client or off taker.
He said TotalEnergies is pursuing a business-to-business (B2B) model in Sabah and across Malaysia rather than relying solely on selling electricity to grid operators.
“We need to be able to work in B2B with industries,” he said, adding that battery energy storage systems could help deliver secure, affordable and clean power directly to industrial clients.
On land availability, Jerome said concerns over Sabah’s land sensitivity could be addressed creatively, citing the example of ageing palm oil plantations.
He noted that solar installations on land due for crop rotation after 20 to 25 years could generate comparable revenues for landowners through leasing arrangements.
Beyond renewables, Jerome said TotalEnergies is committed to oil and gas exploration in Sabah, where the company has operated for 55 years.
He said the company will invest RM800 million this year in deep water exploration, with two high-impact wells currently being drilled in offshore Sabah waters in partnership with Carigali.
He credited the collaborative ecosystem between Petronas, the Sabah Government and the relevant authorities for making Sabah an attractive destination for continued investment.
“When we restarted this journey and dialogue with Petronas upstream arm Malaysia Petroleum Management and the different authorities in Sabah including the Energy Commission, we see that the ecosystem is very communicative, very open, because people are in the mindset of collaboration,” Jerome said.
He also highlighted the growing case for valorising gas from deep water oil developments rather than reinjecting it into reservoirs, describing the expanding gas demand network in Sabah as a compelling argument for headquarters investment approval.
“Now I have a very good story to tell, because I am telling them there is a network, there is a gas demand, there is an industry that is existing and also flourishing and developing,” he said.
He said TotalEnergies is globally one of the few major oil companies to have built significant and profitable positions in both fossil fuels and power, with 40 gigawatts of installed renewable capacity today and a target of 100 gigawatts by 2030, two-thirds from solar and one-third from wind.
He called on the industry to treat oil and gas and renewable energy as complementary rather than competing.
“We are all in the same boat, we need to collaborate. We are looking at more energy that is accessible, that is affordable and clean,” he said.
“Oil and gas, renewable energy, they are complementary. They are key to Sabah’s success and growth,” he added.
Additionally, he said efforts are needed to bring Sabah’s small and emerging local contractors into the oil and gas industry.
“The guy is capable, let’s do something, let’s work with this company to make it work,” Jerome said, recounting how he overruled his own procurement team’s reservations about a financially thin contractor.
“You need to exit this circle of: ‘I don’t give you the job because you have never had a job’. If this circle continues, it will never end.”He pointed to a joint initiative by the Malaysia Petroleum Resources Corporation and the United Nations Global Compact, backed by Petronas, that works with banks to issue guarantees for emerging contractors that lack the track record or financial size typically required.
Jerome said TotalEnergies is willing to serve as a reputable backer in such arrangements.
“Financial support with some guarantees with a big name behind, TotalEnergies can be the big name,” he said.
He said industry forums such as the SOGCE play an equally important role by connecting Sabah’s SMEs with larger operators and giving smaller firms a way into bigger projects at the ground level, where they can build experience and exposure over time. Jerome also highlighted the overlap in technical skills between Sabah’s oil and gas and electricity sectors as an advantage the State should harness.
He said engineers working across both industries share transferable competencies, with grid management skills on land not unlike those needed on an offshore platform.
“If we have more SMEs, more contractors, it means more competition, more competitiveness, more options,” he said.
