PETRONAS to cut 10% of workforce after profits slump
Malaysia's state-owned oil firm will reduce headcount by upward of 5,000 people, Petronas Chief Executive Officer Muhammad Taufik said in a briefing in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday. It will also freeze promotions and hiring until December 2026, he said.
Petronas' profits slid 32% in 2024, following a 21% drop in 2023. The challenges are slated to continue this year, in part due to a continued decline in Brent crude prices. - Bloomberg
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Borneo Post
a few seconds ago
- Borneo Post
Petronas continues to review asset portfolios with value driven decision-making
Petronas will continue to evaluate more potential assets to be added to its portfolio as part of its adjustment exercise. — Bernama photo KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 11): Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) continues to review its asset portfolio periodically, with parameters continuously adapted and set to ensure it delivers value. Petronas executive vice president and chief executive officer of upstream Mohd Jukris Abdul Wahab explained that Petronas reviews its portfolio from time to time to ensure that it meets certain standards set to create and deliver value. 'We need to make sure that our assets in the portfolio remains authentic. As I said, we have redefined our portfolio characteristics to meet certain standards,' he said during Petronas' media briefing on upstream asset management on Monday. 'Or example, it has to meet oil price at US$50 or less. Anything that doesn't support it enough, the big question mark that we have to answer is do we keep this asset or not? 'And the portfolio also has to deliver certain operational efficiency. Any portfolio review that we are doing today has to be guided by some of these parameters – the value that it delivers and the upside that it still has – all these criteria have to be taken into consideration when we decide what we do with some assets that doesn't meet the price parameters.' He explained that when certain Petronas assets become outliers, it was time to be honest with priorities. He noted that some of these assets will require an excessive capital requirement in order to function properly. 'That's not the best way to deliver value. It has to employ more capital to deliver more value from the asset,' he said. 'That's not the best way to do business. We have to bring in partners to collaborate with us to make sure that the partners take some risks out of us. 'We have actually slashed our presence in Sudan, for example, and also in Mexico and Afghanistan. This was consciously decided and guided by the parameters that we set ourselves. And if the time comes to do that, we will do it. 'When we take a decision to get up from a certain set, it is not a spontaneous decision. It has been carefully evaluated over the years.' Jukris also highlighted that Petronas continues to evaluate more potential assets to be added to its portfolio as part of its adjustment exercise. 'We are not going to just leave the portfolio and do nothing. That is not how we sustain our business in the long run. But I must say that we are still aggressive on exploration. 'As we speak, we are doing well in Suriname. We have entered into a joint study agreement in Indonesia, Vietnam, Turkmenistan and Oman. These are some of the work that we are currently doing to make sure that the funnel will always be filled by exploration discoveries. To prepare us for the long run.' He also underscored their drive towards cost efficiency as crude oil prices currently hover around US$64-US$65 per barrel, with expectations for the prices to remain at this level for quite some time. 'What we have done over the last 50 years may not allow us to be more competitive in the coming years. As far as upstream is concerned, we take a hard look into our operational practises. 'The environment around us is not very kind to us. The tariff imposition affects the supply chain. It affects the way we do business. How do we respond to these external challenges? The only thing that we can do is to respond internally. 'How do we drive ourselves to become more cost efficient? That will be some fundamental change that has to happen in terms of how we do things. This is what we are currently doing now. The focus now is more about doing things differently. 'The focus now for us is to drive the efficiency. Some of the processes that we have been adopting over the years, some of the standards that we have been adopting over the past few years, those have got to be challenged and have got to be rebuilt.'
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
PETRONAS reviewing operational, cost efficiencies amid low oil price environment
KUALA LUMPUR: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) expects the low oil price environment to persist, with prices hovering at around US$64 to US$65 per barrel, said executive vice president and chief executive officer (CEO) of upstream business Mohd Jukris Abdul Wahab. (US$1=RM4.24) He said the national oil company is reviewing its operational and cost efficiencies in response to the low-price environment, and challenging how it approaches everything -- from maintenance, field operations, logistics management and procurement to the running of its offshore and onshore facilities. "We are reviewing both our operational and cost efficiencies (as) the way we have done things over the past 50 years may not necessarily keep us competitive in the years ahead,' he said during an Editors Briefing today. Also present was senior vice president of Malaysia assets and Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd CEO Hazli Sham Kassim. Mohd Jukris also said that the US tariff environment has affected the global supply chain. "It (the tariff imposition) affects the way we do business. The only thing that we can do is to respond internally and how we drive ourselves to become more cost efficient,' he added. Replying to a question on portfolio review, Mohd Jukris said the oil company assesses the need to bring in partners to reduce risk exposure, particularly for assets that require high capital investments but deliver limited value. "Partnerships bring not only capital but also new operating philosophies and standards. In this industry, we can't operate in isolation. We must identify partners who can operate certain assets more efficiently than we can. This is the best way to unlock maximum value. "We've done this before -- in Mexico, for example, and in Azerbaijan a few years back,' he noted. Mohd Jukris said Petronas conducts portfolio reviews from time to time to ensure its assets remain competitive, with each asset having to meet specific standards. "For example, they must have a break-even price of US$50 per barrel or less. Anything above that raises the question: do we keep this asset or not? "Operational efficiency is another key criterion. Our unit production cost must remain below US$6 per unit. We set these parameters to guide every portfolio review,' he said. Petronas has seen its portfolio evolve, including the sale of its gas assets in Azerbaijan and, in 2021 and again last year, the scaling back of operations in Mexico through the exit from eight offshore exploration blocks. - Bernama
New Straits Times
2 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Petronas eyes bigger footprint in Canada
KUALA LUMPUR: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) wants to expand its presence in Canada as the country is now one of its major liquefied natural gas (LNG) suppliers. Executive vice president and chief executive officer of upstream business Mohd Jukris Abdul Wahab said Petronas has about 50 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas in Canada. The current LNG Canada project is only in Phase 1, hence the national oil company has embarked on a series of LNG projects backed by this resource portfolio. "With 50 TCF, we can support several more LNG projects as resource size is not the issue here," he told an editors briefing here today. Mohd Jukris expressed hope for Canadian government's support for additional LNG projects. "We are keen to expand our presence there and see Canada as one of our major LNG supply bases going forward," he said. Petronas shipped the first LNG cargo from the LNG Canada facility on July 8. Petronas entered Canada in 2012 by acquiring Progress Energy for US$5.3 billion, securing shale gas assets in northeastern British Columbia. Currently, Petronas operates the North Montney Joint Venture (NMJV) and holds a 25 per cent share in LNG Canada, a significant US$40 billion liquefied natural gas project in Kitimat, British Columbia. Other LNG Canada partners include Shell plc, PetroChina, Mitsubishi Corp and Korea Gas Corp.
