KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 16 — Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) has put in place plans to rebound and recover post-Covid-19 as the company is reeling from the impact of the pandemic to the oil and gas industry.
President and group chief executive officer Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz said the national oil company had taken a step back to consult with its board and the executive leadership team to reshape its portfolio in response to energy transition.
“We also realised that the way that we operate and how we had to respond beyond this pandemic, retooling our human capital equation, was going to be a key part of the solutions to remain both relevant and sustainable beyond this current challenging period,” he said during an interview with CNN yesterday.
He said although Petronas was still at a breakeven point even if oil prices hovered around US$40 to US$50 per barrel, certain assets that did not make sense within the foreseeable US$40 and US$50 per barrel future would need to be relooked.
“Do we fix it? Do we reduce our risk or partake of less exposure on it or do we divest it outright? These are the questions constantly ongoing. Portfolio optimisation sounds like a cliche for some business but it is something that needs to always be (considered),” he said.
He said assets in Petronas’ portfolio would need to be in a clear pathway including fiscal regime.
“The challenge is we have to look not only at assets being able to help us from cost to serve such as gearing it to customers and clients within the market tolerance.
“You know it can get extremely challenging when the spot price of natural gas in Asia for the better part of the year is under US$4 per mmbtu (million British thermal units). We also have to make sure that (oil prices) at US$40 to US$50 per barrel scenario, it now has to be cleaner,” he added.
— Bernama
