Petronas braces for a long-drawn-out period of low oil prices

KUALA LUMPUR: For the second time within a year, Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) has made significant impairments on its upstream assets, leading it to report a 99% year-on-year (y-o-y) drop in its profits from its upstream business in its third quarter ended Sept 30.

Reflecting on the dire state of the oil and gas (O&G) industry, its president and chief executive officer Datuk Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin said in his opening remarks at the press conference announcing Petronas’ third-quarter results: “When we announced our second-quarter results, we said the industry was headed for tough times. The third quarter has proven this to be the case, not just for Petronas but for other companies in the O&G space as well as for other sectors of business.”