KUALA LUMPUR, March 8 ― Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) is bullish on the liquefied natural gas (LNG) segment due to high demand, says president and group chief executive officer Tan Sri Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin.

He said LNG was a long-term play for the company and global demand was expected to reach 350 million tonnes per annum.

“This is the reason why we strongly advocate on gas,” he said during the company’s fourth quarter and 2018 financial performance briefing here today.

Malaysia’s gas average sales volume was 2,777 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd), 86 mmscfd higher than the 2,691 mmscfd in 2017, mainly due to higher demand.

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Last year’s LNG sales volume slipped 1.78 million tonnes to 28.94 million tonnes compared with 27.16 million tonnes in 2017, and this was attributed to lower production volume from Petronas LNG Complex in Bintulu, Sarawak.

At the same time, Wan Zulkiflee said Petronas secured 10 LNG business deals in 2018, which contributed 5.84 million tonnes per annum to its business portfolio. 

Responding to a question on Petronas’ commitment in adhering to the Organisation of Oil Producing Countries’ (OPEC) oil supply cuts, he said Malaysia agreed to limit its production to 15,000 barrels per day.

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“This is what we strive for and we have to see the outcome of the OPEC+ meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan from March 17-18 and see what will happen there,” he said.

Malaysia had agreed to reduce its total oil output to 15,000 barrels per day from an earlier level of 20,000 barrels as part of the country’s commitment in the face of the economic challenges posed by the global oil market. ― AFP