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The president and CEO of the Petronas group, Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz.
+A KUALA LUMPUR (September 4): Malaysia’s state-owned energy giant Petroliam Nasional Bhd said on Friday it would reshuffle its portfolio after reporting its first quarterly loss in nearly five years following a coronavirus-related demand drop and drop in oil prices.
Petronas, as the company is known, also warned that its full-year performance would be severely affected and that demand might not return to pre-pandemic levels until the second half of 2021.
“Petronas has endured a very challenging first half of the year and we expect our performance to be affected by the volatility in oil prices, which continues to be exacerbated by uncertainties caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” said the CEO. Tengku. Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz said in a statement.
Petronas, the world’s fourth largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, has already signaled production cuts and cost savings to mitigate the impact of the pandemic.
It will now seek to expand its renewable energy portfolio and reevaluate its oil and gas positions, CEO Tengku Muhammad Taufik, who took office in July, said at a press conference.
Petronas has formed a team to study the development of a “higher value” portfolio, he said.
The company sees the biggest opportunities in solar and wind power in the Asia Pacific region, he added.
Petronas reported a loss of RM21 billion ($ 5.06 billion) for the April-June period, compared to a RM14.7 billion profit for the same period last year. The loss included impairment charges as the company readjusted its oil price outlook.
It was the first loss since the fourth quarter of 2015. Revenue fell 42% to 34 billion ringgit.
Petronas’ annual dividend to the Malaysian government, its sole shareholder, will depend on its “affordability,” the CEO said.
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