Kota Kinabalu: The expansion of oil and gas activities into areas overlapping the Tun Mustapha Marine Park (TMP), following developments linked to the Bambazon Cluster off the northern coast of Sabah, is cause for serious concern, according to RimbaWatch.
It reminded Malaysian authorities of their obligations under the Paris Agreement and international climate law, as well as responsibility to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
Advertisement
It urged Sabah Parks to strengthen the Sabah Parks Enactment 1984 to explicitly exclude harmful activities such as oil and gas exploration and production in or near marine and coastal protected areas.
In the interim, it called on Sabah Parks to ensure that oil and gas exploration in Block SB403 and production from the Bambazon Cluster do not encroach into TMP.
RimbaWatch is an environmental think-tank that conducts research and analysis on regional climate issues.
In February 2023, several oil and gas blocks were offered for auction under the annual Malaysia Bid Round, including the Bambazon Cluster, described as a discovered resource opportunity located within a proven hydrocarbon basin and close to existing infrastructure, offering potential synergies for monetisation.
In January 2024, a local energy company signed a production sharing contract (PSC) for the Bambazon Cluster.
RimbaWatch said geospatial analysis of maps of the Bambazon Cluster that it sighted revealed that the easternmost field associated with the cluster is located entirely within the boundaries of Tun Mustapha Marine Park.
Further analysis of zoning maps of the TMP indicated that the field is situated within the Commercial Fishing Zone of the park and is close to several preservation zones and community use zones.
TMP is classified as an International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Category VI protected area, which is designed to conserve ecosystems and habitats together with associated cultural values and traditional natural resource management systems.
RimbaWatch said Category VI protected areas are intended to balance sustainable resource use with the protection of ecosystem services and biodiversity by promoting small-scale development while prohibiting industrial-scale activities through clearly defined zoning.
According to the TMP zoning plans, the objective of the Commercial Fishing Zone is to allow sustainable commercial fishing activities and small-scale, low-impact uses, with permitted activities limited to non-destructive traditional fishing methods, parasailing and sport fishing.
RimbaWatch stressed that oil and gas activities are therefore contrary to the objectives of establishing an IUCN Category VI protected area and are not aligned with the zoning plans of the TMP, which only allow sustainable, small-scale and low-impact activities.
It stressed that oil and gas development poses significant environmental risks to marine areas, including acoustic impacts on marine mammals and altered swimming behaviour of fish during the exploration phase.
It added that it could result in damage to seabeds and benthic organisms during drilling, as well as pollution from drilling discharges such as lubricants, which degrade water quality and cause sedimentation.
During the production phase, RimbaWatch said risks include discharge and sludge disposal, as well as blowouts, leaks during transportation, oil spills and infrastructure failure.
RimbaWatch noted that TMP is a globally significant biodiversity site, hosting more than 82 species of hard corals across about 45,156 hectares of reef area, 715 species of fish, over 20 species of sharks, two species of dolphins, nesting sites for hawksbill and green turtles, and more than 17,000 hectares of mangroves.
In total, the waters of the park are inhabited by more than 1,200 species, of which 180 are classified as vulnerable or endangered, all of which would be at risk from oil and gas activities.
The group pointed out that such risks are not hypothetical in Malaysia, citing major incidents in East Malaysia in recent years, including the sinking of an offshore oil rig during assembly in May 2021.
It also referred to Environment Department’s data which recorded 130 documented oil spills in Malaysian waters between 2014 and 2022, with damage to marine life being the most common environmental impact.
RimbaWatch said these risks are compounded by the lack of any efficient large-scale strategy to clean oil-contaminated coral reefs, with existing methods relying heavily on chemical dispersants that can be more harmful to reefs than the oil itself.
The think-tank further stressed the need to consider the July 2025 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on states’ obligations in relation to climate change.
It said fossil fuels remain the primary driver of global emissions and that the development of new fossil fuel resources, particularly fossil gas, is inconsistent with scientific pathways to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, including those outlined in the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report.
According to RimbaWatch, the ICJ ruled that states have a legal duty to prevent transboundary environmental harm and that failure to prevent foreseeable harm, including through the approval of new fossil fuel exploration licences, could constitute a wrongful act attributable to the State.
It said this interpretation means that any approval by the Malaysian Government for exploration and production activities linked to the Bambazon Cluster could amount to a violation of international law.
RimbaWatch also urged Malaysia’s oil and gas operators to commit to ending activities in the Sulu-Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion and the Coral Triangle Implementation Area to safeguard the world’s most biodiverse marine ecoregion.
It said the Malaysian Government must commit to a fossil fuel phase-out aligned with a global fair-share 1.5-degree pathway and should join other Global South countries such as Colombia in calling for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty to establish a global framework for an equitable energy transition.
