Case Timeline
Petronas v Sarawak: A Timeline of the Petroleum Rights Dispute
The modern phase — from the revocation of the 1969 Emergency to the ongoing constitutional challenge before the Federal Court
This timeline traces the modern phase of the dispute over Sarawak’s oil and gas resources, from the revocation of the 1969 Emergency to the ongoing constitutional challenge before the Federal Court.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2011 | The three emergency proclamations — including the 1969 Proclamation — are revoked, ending the Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance No. 7 of 1969. |
| 2012 | Parliament passes the Territorial Sea Act 2012; section 3(3) again limits Sarawak’s territorial waters to three nautical miles. |
| 2017 | Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (Petros) is established as a state-owned oil and gas company. The Sarawak Government sends a legal team to the UK to locate supporting documents on the state’s rights under MA63. |
| 2018 | Petronas seeks leave from the Federal Court to commence proceedings for a declaration that it is the exclusive owner of Malaysia’s petroleum resources and the sole regulator of upstream activities, including in Sarawak. The Federal Court dismisses the application, ruling that the matter falls within the High Court’s jurisdiction, not its own. Separately, the Sarawak State Assembly passes the Oil Mining (Amendment) Bill to update the Oil Mining Ordinance 1958. |
| 2019–2020 | Effective January 1, 2019, Sarawak imposes a 5% sales tax on petroleum products under the State Sales Tax Ordinance 1998. Petronas does not pay; Sarawak sues. The High Court rules in Sarawak’s favour in March 2020. As part of a commercial settlement announced in May 2020, Petronas withdraws its appeal and Sarawak withdraws its civil claims; Petronas agrees to pay RM2 billion in sales tax for 2019. The High Court’s ruling stands. Separately, Petros receives onshore mining leases in Miri and Marudi from the Sarawak Government. |
| 2024 | Petros sues Petronas over a demand for an RM7.95 million bank guarantee, arguing the Sarawak Gas Sales Agreement is illegal because Petronas lacks a licence under the Distribution of Gas Ordinance 2016. |
| Feb 2025 | The High Court dismisses Petros’s bid to recover the RM7.95 million bank guarantee, holding that the guarantee was validly called. The court declines to rule on the constitutional questions raised, noting that they had not been properly pleaded in the originating summons. |
| May 2025 | The Federal and Sarawak governments sign a joint declaration acknowledging the co-existence of the PDA 1974 and Sarawak’s Distribution of Gas Ordinance 2016, and recognising Petros as the gas aggregator in Sarawak. The declaration does not resolve the ongoing court cases. |
| Jan 2026 | Petronas files a motion in the Federal Court seeking leave to challenge the constitutional validity of several Sarawak state laws. |
| 16 Mar 2026 | The Federal Court grants Petronas leave to commence proceedings. Chief Judge of Malaya Hashim Hamzah finds an arguable case and orders the petition to be filed within 21 days. |
| Apr 2026 | Petronas files its petition in the Federal Court, seeking referral of the constitutional questions to the apex court’s original jurisdiction. The petition names the Sarawak and federal governments as respondents. |
| May 2026 | Petronas files an amended petition — reported by The Edge on 8 June — seeking to clarify that it does not wish to consolidate its case with Sarawak’s. The Sabah-based group Sabar applies to intervene in Sarawak’s petition. Sarawak amends its petition, arguing the PDA 1974 was enacted without the constitutionally required request from the State Legislature under Article 76(1)(c). |
| 8 June 2026 | Case management held before Federal Court deputy registrar Azaraorni Abd Rahman to set a hearing date for both petitions. |
| 28 Aug 2026 | The Federal Court dismisses Sabar’s application to intervene in Sarawak’s petition. A three-member bench chaired by Justice Nordin Hassan rules that Sabar has no legal interest in the case and does not represent the Sabah government. No order is made on costs. |
| 24 Sept 2026 | Both Petronas and Sarawak confirm that they want their petitions heard separately. Sarawak — which had initially raised no objection to a joint hearing — now wants its petition heard first, and wants the legitimacy of the Sarawak (Alteration of Boundaries) Order in Council 1954 determined as a preliminary issue. The court tentatively fixes one week from 25 January 2027 for the hearing, and 1 October 2026 for further case management. |
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