MOSCOW (MRC) -- Malaysia's Petronas delayed the launch of its Pengerang Integrated Complex until the second half of the year from the first, but dismissed rumours partner Saudi Aramco was looking to exit the USD27 billion project, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.
The state oil firm Petronas said it faced another challenging year after booking a 1.1 billion ringgit (USD272 million) loss for the final quarter of 2020, its third quarterly loss in a row though higher prices and demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) helped.
The world's fourth-biggest LNG exporter had earned a profit of 4.1 billion for the October-December quarter a year earlier. "The outlook remains challenging with modest recovery in demand and oil prices, as the COVID-19 impact still continues with the emergence of new surges in cases," Petronas CEO Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz said.
"Despite the prolonged volatile and challenging outlook, Petronas remains optimistic on our recovery pathway," he said. Revenue fell 31.3% to 44 billion ringgit. For 2020, it recorded a profit after tax of 10.5 billion ringgit, it said. Excluding impairment charges, its cash flow from operations was 40.7 billion ringgit.
The firm, formally known as Petroliam Nasional Berhad, said 2021 will remain difficult due to the pandemic. Petronas has allocated its annual capital expenditure at between 40 billion ringgit ($9.88 billion) to 45 billion ringgit for the next five years, with 55% of the allocation set for domestic operations, said Liza Mustapha, senior vice president and group CFO.
It boosted its capex allocation for new energy to 9% from 5% as it aims to expand its renewable energy portfolio. It said the restart of the Pengerang complex in the southern state of Johor previously expected in March would be delayed until the second half of the year due to the pandemic. It dismissed rumors' that partner Saudi Aramco was looking to exit the joint venture.
"Petronas and Saudi Aramco remain committed to the partnership.. It remains a commitment and I have engaged with the management of Saudi Aramco regularly," Tengku Muhammad said. Last March a deadly fire at Pengerang forced the closure of the facility which had been set to start full commercial operations last year. Its Myanmar operations were not affected by the military coup there, Tengku Muhammad added.
As per MRC, Petronas, said it aims to become a net zero emitter of greenhouse gases by 2050 and also plans to increase its investments in renewable energy. Burning of oil and gas accounts for the vast majority of the world’s carbon emissions, and many investors have pushed global oil majors to do more to combat climate change. Petronas, the world’s fourth-largest exporter of LNG, said it will intensify its efforts toward reducing the so-called Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions, referring to direct emissions from operations and the electricity used by the company.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,220,640 tonnes in 2020, up by 2% year on year. Only shipments of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) increased.
Petronas, short for Petroliam Nasional Berhad, is a Malaysian oil and gas company wholly owned by the Government of Malaysia. The Group is engaged in a wide spectrum of petroleum activities, including upstream exploration and production of oil and gas to downstream oil refining; marketing and distribution of petroleum products; trading; gas processing and liquefaction; gas transmission pipeline network operations; marketing of liquefied natural gas; petrochemical manufacturing and marketing; shipping; automotive engineering; and property investment.
MRC