Malaysia, Brunei fail to end offshore oil row
22 Aug 2003 11:26
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Talks between Brunei and Malaysia
failed on Friday to settle rival territorial claims on oil-rich
waters off Borneo island, with Kuala Lumpur saying its proposal
made in May was its best offer.
Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said after a meeting
between Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and Malaysian Prime
Minister Mahathir Mohamad that it was now up to Brunei to consider
the proposal.
Exploration activities in the disputed area have been halted after
the Malaysian navy earlier this year chased off a drilling team
belonging to a consortium led by France's Total .
"The prime minister has made it very very clear that we have
submitted our proposal and that proposal is the maximum we can live
with," Syed Hamid told reporters.
"It's up to Brunei to look at what we have said, so we will wait
for their response," he said. "At this meeting, they did not make
any final decision that will be lasting and durable."
The stakes in the dispute shot up last year after Murphy Oil made a
sizeable discovery in a Malaysian block near the disputed area, and
put preliminary estimates on the Kikeh field's recoverable reserves
at 400 million to 700 million barrels.
Syed Hamid declined to say whether the halt on exploration
activities in the area would continue.
Malaysia has proposed a production-sharing agreement, according to
a source in Brunei with knowledge of the sultanate's
policymaking.
But Brunei's U.K.-based advisers have warned such a pact may mean
conceding Malaysia has territorial rights, the source said.
Brunei, a tiny nation of 330,000 people surrounded on all sides by
Malaysia, lacks the muscle to back up its claim, however, and may
lose more by digging in against its neighbour.
Syed Hamid said there were areas both sides could agree on.
"I think we have moved nearer to a final solution," he said, adding
it was possible to resolve the issue before Mahathir steps down in
October. Brunei's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) stretches 200 km
(124 miles) offshore and the sultanate awarded exploration
blocks.
But Malaysia bases its overlapping claim on possession of some tiny
islands and reefs in the South China Sea, and argues that Brunei
only has jurisdiction over its continental shelf, in water up to
200 m (656 ft) deep. About three-quarters of the EEZ is in deeper
water
POOR BRUNEI... sure kena bully left right centre...... wat can
singapore do for them?
