KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 19 — Malaysia's Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) is planning to slash as much as RM50 billion in capital and operating expenses over the next four years, the Wall Street Journal reported today.

The state-owned oil and gas firm, which brings in nearly half of Malaysia's oil revenue, will defer some of its projects, the Journal report said, citing an internal memo by chief executive Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin.

Petronas was not immediately available for comment.

The firm has been hit by a slump in oil prices, which fell to their lowest since 2003 yesterday. Prices have fallen over 70 per cent in the past 18 months as exporters around the world pump out over a million barrels of crude every day in excess of demand.

In February last year, Petronas said it planned to cut capital expenditure by 10 per cent and operating expenses by up to 30 per cent in 2015. It also said at the time that it would cut 2016 capital spending by 15 per cent. — Reuters