Through Malaysia Petroleum Management – MPM, PETRONAS on February 11, 2026, went ahead and launched the Malaysia Bid Round 2026 – MBR 2026 by the theme – Advantaged Energy: Accelerating and Shaping Tomorrow which is aimed at strengthening the position of Malaysia as a premium investment venue.
As PETRONAS launches MBR 2026, it goes on to introduce nine exploration blocks located across Malaysia. The portfolio goes on to offer a balanced bag of opportunities, that feature very high-impact exploration block based out of frontier Sandakan Basin, high-potential exploration blocks across the emerging West Sarawak Basin and also near-field exploration blocks having novel play ideas based out of the mature Malay Basin.
It is worth noting that the bid round also has in it six Discovered Resource Opportunities DRO offering ready-to-develop pathways when it comes to monetization. Investors along with solutions providers are presented with opportunities so as to make utmost use of the extensive technical information, thereby helping the resource development platform and also phased-development alternatives that apparently offer ability for early monetization along with near-term value creation.
According to Datuk Ir. Bacho Pilong, the Senior Vice President of MPM, “Malaysia’s energy demand will continue to grow, and the upstream industry will need to fulfill this demand to power our fast-growing digital economy and manufacturing backbone. The economic spin-off benefits also extend to downstream industries while providing feedstock to many others. To fuel Malaysia’s upstream engine with a steady flow of opportunities, we require upstream investment in the tune of RM 50-60 billion each year.”
Interestingly, as PETRONAS launches MBR 2026, it also gone ahead and demonstrated quite a robust industry momentum and also an ecosystem activation, with strategic partnerships and development landmarks announced simultaneously along with the bid round offering.
PETRONAS, strengthening the investment landscape, has gone ahead and inked a series of Memorandum of Understanding MoUs, hence highlighting the confidence in the industry and also reinforcing Malaysia as a high-growth energy hub.
Notably, the fact is that the MoUs inked with Global FCNG, Inc., ZDA Corporation Sdn. Bhd. As well as MTC Engineering Sdn. Bhd., go ahead and further widen the scope of partnership opportunities and also elevate the country’s technology‑driven solutions landscape.
PETRONAS, in addition to advancing its energy transition along with CCUS ambitions, is also widening its collaboration beyond the traditional PSC boundaries by way of the Borderless initiative through a Memorandum of Agreement along with PETRONAS Carigali Sdn. Bhd. and also Hibiscus Oil & Gas Malaysia Limited. Making utmost use of the CBijak Malaysia Landscape framework, the initiative goes on to integrate the work plans throughout the PSCs, hence enabling offshore Malaysia to further optimize the resource development and at the same time enhance CO₂ management solutions that are commercially viable.
All put together, these developments indeed go ahead and reinforce the position of Malaysia as a premium upstream destination that is filled with immense regulatory clarity and resource potential, along with an ecosystem collaboration that converges so as to create sustained value in terms of rolling out energy security along with transition readiness.
