Malaysia's Petronas aims for China, Vietnam expansion while seeking long-term LNG supply
[BEIJING] Malaysia's Petroliam Nasional, or Petronas, aims to expand its liquefied natural gas (LNG) sales into markets such as China and Vietnam while also looking to secure more long-term supply from North America and emerging markets, said a company executive.
'As part of our strategic growth plans, Petronas is actively seeking to expand our LNG supply into high-demand markets in Asia, including China and Vietnam,' said Shamsairi Ibrahim, vice-president, LNG marketing and trading in an e-mail in response to questions from Reuters.
'These regions present significant opportunities due to their robust economic growth and increasing energy needs.'
Apart from LNG, Shamsairi said Petronas is aiming to work with China on other lower-carbon energy solutions including renewable energy, hydrogen, green mobility, ammonia, carbon capture and storage and speciality chemicals.
On supply, the Malaysian state energy firm also said that it is keen to secure more long-term deals to buy LNG to provide stability and reliability to its customers.
'Petronas is exploring opportunities with sellers from diverse regions, including North America and other emerging markets, to enhance our global supply network and meet the evolving needs of our customers,' added Shamsairi.
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'We are in communication with several parties to explore mutually beneficial opportunities, including Commonwealth LNG.'
Petronas has previously said that its supply from some US contracts could be sold in the spot market to Europe or Asia.
Reuters reported last month that Petronas is in talks with Commonwealth LNG for one million tons per annum of the fuel from the US company's facility in Cameron, Louisiana.
Commonwealth LNG said in early May it had signed a 20-year supply deal with a major Asian energy company, but did not name the buyer.
Malaysia was the world's fifth largest LNG exporter in 2024, shipping out 28 million metric tonnes of the chilled fuel last year, according to Kpler data. REUTERS
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