Wan Zul takes over as Petronas head on April 1

PETALING JAYA: The current chief operating officer (COO) of Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), Datuk Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin, will take over the helm of the national oil company on April 1.

In an emotional farewell in front of some 3,000 senior executives, Petronas president and chief executive officer Tan Sri Shamsul Azhar Abbas announced that he would step down at the end of next month and warmly welcomed his successor Wan Zulkiflee towards the end of a townhall address that lasted more than 90 minutes.

His colleagues gave Shamsul, who had been earlier speculated to be given a seven-month extension, a standing ovation when he announced his departure from Petronas after 40 years of service. In between, he had retired in 2009 but was brought back by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak as president and CEO to replace Tan Sri Hassan Merican in 2010.

Shamsul, in his speech that was very much laced with elements of his passion for Petronas, touched on the pressures that the national oil company faced from groups seeking contracts.

He reiterated that moving forward, Petronas should not loosen its criteria and should maintain its commercial interest in dishing out contracts.

One of Shamsul’s key themes was to remind Petronas to continue to behave like an international oil company.

A source said that Shamsul had made it clear that Petronas should continue to strive to maintain its independence on how it managed its financial resources, warning that anything else would lead to a “slippery slope” that would damage its longevity.

Carefully staying clear from naming the new CEO because it is something that would have to come from the Prime Minister’s Office, Shamsul kept it towards the last part of his address.

Shamsul invited Wan Zulkiflee on stage and said that he (Wan Zulkiflee) was part of Petronas’ succession plan while shaking his hand and lauded the Prime Minister’s decision to appoint Wan Zulkiflee.

By then, an announcement was already out in the website of the Prime Minister’s Office on the appointment of Wan Zulkiflee.

The 54-year-old Wan Zulkiflee has been given a three-year contract beginning April 1, while Shamsul’s contract, which expired yesterday, has been extended to March 31.

Wan Zulkiflee was the favourite to replace Shamsul and was already part of Petronas’ succession plan when he was appointed COO in 2012.

He was in the running to replace former Petronas CEO Hassan back in 2010, but Najib picked Shamsul instead.

Wan Zulkiflee is also the executive director of Petronas as well as the executive vice-president of the downstream business at the national oil company and chairman of Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd and Petronas Dagangan Bhd.

In a statement yesterday, Najib said he was confident that Wan Zulkiflee’s experience and qualification would continue to lead Petronas to more success.

“The Government appreciates and thanks Shamsul for his contribution to Petronas during his tenure since 2010. Shamsul has been with the national oil company since 1975 and has held several top management positions. With Shamsul’s experience in the oil and gas industry, I hope he will continue to contribute to the country’s growth,” Najib said.

It should be noted that the appointment of the new CEO had been kept to the last minute, a move that has drawn criticism from some quarters, considering it is the only Malaysian Fortune 500 company with many international business partners, stakeholders and clients.

Apart from Wan Zulkiflee, three other contenders for the CEO’s position were Petronas’ vice-president of its upstream business in Malaysia Datuk Mohd Anuar Taib; Datuk Ahmad Nizam Salleh, who is the managing director and CEO of Petronas’s 80%-owned unit South Africa-based Engen Petroleum Ltd; and Md Arif Mahmood, who is the senior vice-president for corporate strategy and risk.

Wan Zulkiflee joined Petronas in 1983 as a process engineer, where he was involved in the development of several gas-processing plants.

During his stint, he has held various positions including as managing director and CEO of Petronas Gas Bhd and vice-president of the gas business.

Petronas under the helm of Shamsul expanded to Canada with its acquisition of Progress Energy Resources Corp in 2012 in a deal worth around US$5bil that gave it shale gas properties in north-eastern British Columbia.