KUALA LUMPUR: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) has dismissed reports of a merger between its subsidiary Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Bhd (MHB) and Sapura Energy Bhd.
The national oil firm was responding to a report earlier this month that a merger between MHB and debt-ridden Sapura Energy was in the works.
Quoting sources, the reports said the majority shareholders of Sapura Energy and MHB, namely Permodalan Nasional Bhd and Petronas, were "mulling" merging the two oil and gas service providers but stressed the discussions were still at "an early stage".
"Petronas refers to recent news reports speculating a merger between MHB and Sapura Energy. Petronas wishes to categorically deny these speculations.
"Any investment or divestment consideration within the Petronas Group has always been and will continue to be strictly guided by a board-approved and management-enforced framework," it said in a statement.
Petronas did not specify whether or not preliminary negotiations had taken place.
This is not the first time that rumours of a possible collaboration between MHB and Sapura Energy have gathered steam and been covered by local media.
Petronas had announced in March 2022 that it would not be acquiring Sapura Energy, a deal that would have brought it under the same banner as MHB and MISC Bhd.
Last week, rumours surfaced once more when Sapura Energy informed Bursa Malaysia that MHB's previous managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) Wan Mashitah Wan Abdullah Sani, had joined the board as an independent and non-executive director.
On the same day, it was disclosed in a separate Bursa filing that Datuk Nur Iskandar A Samad, who has held various high leadership positions in Petronas, had also joined Sapura Energy as an independent and non-executive director.
Wan Mashitah has over 28 years of expertise in finance, strategic planning, project costing, and supply chain management, according to Sapura Energy.
It also stated that Wan Mashitah served as CEO of E&P Operations and Maintenance Services Sdn Bhd from March 31, 2022, to Sept 30, 2022, during which time she assisted in the firm's transition from a wholly-owned subsidiary of Petronas to a privately-owned company.