Exclusive: Malaysian energy giant’s board at odds with PM over payment to Sarawak state

September 2, 2020

Dateline 2020-06-26, KFGO:

The board and management of Malaysian national energy giant Petronas have urged the prime minister to drop a planned tax settlement with a state that is run by his political allies, three sources close to the company said.

Petronas’ chief executive, Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin, resigned in opposition to the deal, sources told Reuters last week, and he is set to leave the company this month after 37 years.

But, sources told Reuters the rest of the management were still trying to convince Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to block the pay-out to Sarawak, a resource rich state on Borneo island.

Muhyiddin’s decision will have big implications for Petronas and the national budget, and will be closely watched by foreign investors, on guard over corporate governance and financial transparency in Malaysia following the mega-scandal at sovereign fund, 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).

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Oil, gas woes hamper Muhyiddin’s economic recovery plans for Malaysia

September 1, 2020

Dateline 2020-06-23, Phnom Penh Post:


Petronas’ woes mean it may not be able to help bail Malaysia out of its financial tight spots this time. AFP

Plunging oil and gas prices are set to further hammer Malaysia’s economy, as state oil firm Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) faces depressed demand due to global coronavirus lockdowns.

Petronas’ woes mean it may not be able to help bail the country out of its financial tight spots this time.

Falling oil and gas prices are a double whammy for Malaysia’s economy as the Muhyiddin Yassin administration wrestles with the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Unemployment hit a three-decade high of five per cent in April. Malaysia posted a trade deficit in the same month for the first time since the 1997 Asian financial crisis, with mining exports (largely made up of crude oil and natural gas) suffering their steepest plunge at 31.5 per cent, far more than the 23.8 per cent overall.

The Manila-based Asian Development Bank last Thursday said it expected the Malaysian economy to shrink by four per cent, while British multinational financial services company Barclays Plc had, a day earlier, forecast a whopping 8.5 per cent drop.

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Pengerang to be major downstream hub for oil and gas

August 31, 2020

Dateline 2020-06-21

I see bro Yazid in the photo (obligatory name dropping).

Pengerang Industrial Park near Kota Tinggi will become the premier regional hub for downstream processing of oil and gas, Johor officials said today.

Johor Corporation said in a statement that it had identified about RM17.4 billion in potential investments, involving aromatics, petrochemicals and support services for oil and gas industries.

Among the products expected to be produced are raw materials for the manufacture of various plastic products for industrial use, car components, paint, engine coolant, synthetic fibre, and products for consumer needs.

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Wan Zulkiflee should have resigned as Petronas CEO a long time ago, Sarawak politician says

August 30, 2020

Dateline 2020-06-21, Malay Mail:

Sarawak People’s Aspiration Party (Aspirasi) today said the recent resignation of Tan Sri Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin as chief executive officer of Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) should have happened a long time ago.

Its president Lina Soo said he was a reason for Petronas not willing to pay the 5 per cent state sales (SST) imposed on the import of petroleum products in Sarawak.

“He had said in public that Sarawak had no legal competence to demand the sales tax and had also opposed demands from Sarawak and neighbouring Sabah for bigger royalty payments,” Soo said when asked by Malay Mail to comment on the resignation of Wan Zulkiflee as Petronas chief executive officer recently.

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Exclusive: Chief of Malaysia’s Petronas quit over payment to state, sources say

August 29, 2020

Dateline 2020-06-19, Reuters:

The chief of Malaysian energy giant Petronas quit this month after disagreement with the prime minister over giving more oil money to one of the country’s states run by a government ally, sources close to the government and the company said.

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Happy Malaysia Petroleum Act 1974

August 22, 2020

Read it here.

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Anniversary – Seveso Disaster

July 10, 2020

Process Safety Engineers never forget.

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Sarawak CM claims Petronas told to withdraw court appeal against paying sales tax

July 8, 2020

Dateline 2020-06-12, Malay Mail:

Putrajaya has directed national oil company Petronas not to proceed with its appeal after losing a court case and being ordered to pay Sarawak the sales tax amounting to RM2.8 billion, Chief Minister Datuk Abang Johari Openg said today.

He said Petronas had filed an appeal of the High Court’s decision on the application for a judicial review against the imposition of the Sarawak Sales Tax on the import of petroleum products before the change of the federal government from Pakatan Harapan (PH) to Perikatan Nasional (PN).

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China’s aggression amid global crisis

July 7, 2020

Dateline 2020-07-11, Inquirer:

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On April 16, China’s Haiyang Dizhi 8 survey ship reportedly entered waters near Malaysia. The next day, the ship was seen close to the West Capella oil exploration vessel operated by Malaysia’s oil company, Petronas. Malaysia’s foreign minister Hishammuddin Hussein called for disputes in the strategic waterway to be resolved “peacefully.”

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Anniversary – Piper Alpha Disaster

July 6, 2020

Oil & Gas Engineers never forget.

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