Dateline 2015-08-17, Platts:
Malaysia’s state-owned Petronas posted stronger refining margins in the second quarter and saw a near 3.5% growth in crude, condensate and natural gas production, but warned of tougher times ahead as it sees little scope of oil prices recovering in the second half of the year.
Petronas CEO Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin said the acquisition of a 47% stake in Malaysian Refining Company late last year helped the company to boost its refining margins to “double digits” in the quarter that ended on June 30, from about $8/b in the previous quarter.
“As a result of the increased capacity through this acquisition, we could post stronger refining margins,” Wan Zulkiflee told reporters while announcing the company’s Q2 results in Kuala Lumpur.
“But there is a confluence of events that is not supporting high oil prices,” he said. “There is a chronic oversupply situation. Therefore, we expect oil prices will remain depressed for the rest of the year.”
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Wata - Malaysian Oil and Gas Engineer 