KUALA LUMPUR: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) president and chief executive officer Tan Sri Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin will be visiting Abu Dhabi next month to form a joint working committee to explore viable commercial opportunity with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc).
This confirms a NST Business report of a maiden collaboration between the two oil giants.
“We are looking at opportunities for the time being. Next month, I am going to Abu Dhabi and we will form a joint working committee to explore any viable commercial opportunities that we are going to pursue.
“This is a suite of opportunities and the nation is well known for attractive projects in the area of exploration and production and also downstream.
“But we have to assess each one of these opportunities and what they have to offer and if it is needed for our economic threshold,” he said during a press conference of the group’s first half (1H) financial performance, here, today.
On Wednesday, NST Business report quoted people familiar with the matter as saying that the two companies would be taking the next step potentially leading to their first collaboration.
This followed Malaysia’s Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Azmin Ali’s discussions with the UAE Minister of State and Adnoc chief executive officer Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber during the former’s visit to the emirate recently.
Adnoc is the 12th largest oil producer in the world and a state-owned company of UAE, a member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
The UAE accounts for 4.2 per cent of global oil production, much of it from assets owned and operated by Adnoc.
Adnoc’s listed company, Adnoc for Distrbution PJSC, is valued at US$9.09 billion in market capitalisation.
Petronas, on the other hand, is one of the largest companies by revenue.
Last year, it recorded over US$60 billion in turnover. Its three listed companies have a combined market capitalisation of US$30 billion.
Last week, the NST reported that Malaysia and the UAE had received a proposal that could pave the way for companies to extend their market reach in both countries as well as lead to “massive” investments.
Quoting sources, the report said the proposal would see both governments identifying investment opportunities in not just oil and gas, but also the renewable energy, infrastructure and tourism sectors.
Prominent names like Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Khazanah Nasional Bhd and Petronas could be involved, said the sources.