KUALA LUMPUR: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) is committed to ramp up its spending on capital expenditure (capex) but will continue to pay lower dividends this year.
Petronas executive vice president and group chief financial officer Liza Mustapha said it will pay a total of RM32 billion dividends to the government this year, lower than the RM40 billion paid in 2022.
"Yesterday (March 15) the Petronas board approved a dividend payment of RM32 billion. This will be paid between April and December," Liza said at the group's financial year ended Dec 31, 2023 (FY23) results briefing here today.
Petronas president and group chief executive officer Tengku Tan Sri Muhammad Taufik said the group is allocating 20 per cent of its annual capex (between RM50 billion to RM60 billion) into decarbonisation projects and expansion into cleaner energy solutions from 2022 to 2026.
Tengku Muhammad Taufik said the group will ensure a healthy allocation is invested in green energy transition in order for Petronas to remain not only relevant, but also viable and competitive.
"So among the investments undertaken by the group include, expediting the monetisation of resources for energy security, responsibly advancing the development as you heard about meeting carbon capture and storage projects," he said.
Petronas' 2023 capex amounted to RM52.8 billion, mainly attributed to upstream and gas projects.
The group's domestic capex increased by 41 per cent last year mainly for investments in the Petronas nearshore floating LNG project in Sabah and the Kasawari gas field development and CO2 sequestration facilities in Sarawak.