SAPURACREST EYES RM3 BLN WORTH OF CONTRACTS

SERI KEMBANGAN (Malaysia), July 6 (Bernama) -- SapuraCrest Petroleum Bhda is
bidding for RM3 billion (US$937 million) worth of contracts locally and
overseas, said its chief executive officer, Rohaizad Darus.

Of the amount, he said, about RM1.4 billion (US$437 million) were local
contracts and the rest overseas.

"Among the contracts the company is bidding for are long-term maintenance
services for Petronas Carigali and multiple contracts in Vietnam, Indonesia and
India," he told reporters after the company's annual general meeting here
Tuesday.

Rohaizad said the company, which is involved in the oil and gas industry,
has RM10 billion (US$3.12 billion) worth of contracts in hand with 70 per cent
of them being local.

He said the company also planned to reduce its cost by below RM30 million
(US$9.37 million) this year.

Meanwhile, Sapura Group president/chief executive officer, Shahril
Shamsuddin, said SapuraCrest planned to focus on overseas expansion going
foward.

Shahril, who is also executive vice-chairman of SapuraCrest, said Indonesia,
Vietnam, the Middle East and India were among the countries.

He said SapuraCrest has invested more than US$200 million in India, a big
market to the company.

"Although priority will be on the Malaysian market, we will also
aggressively embark on opening new markets," he said.
-- BERNAMA