Wee looks forward to his break

Wee: ‘My plan has always been about taking a break and see what comes next. I have been working very hard for the past few years.’

KUALA LUMPUR: After a six-year stint as head of Petroliam Nasional Bhd’s (Petronas) upstream business, Datuk Wee Yiaw Hin (pic) said he is “ready to take a break from the industry.”

On Tuesday, Petronas announced several changes at its top management including replacing Wee with former Shell Malaysia chairman Datuk Mohd Anuar Taib for the executive vice-president and chief executive officer posts in charge of Petronas’ upstream activities.

“My plan has always been about taking a break and see what comes next.

“I have been working very hard for the past few years,” he told StarBiz on the sidelines of the Offshore Technology Conference Asia 2016 industry and media reception yesterday.

“I’m looking forward to the beach in Australia,” Wee said.

Anuar, said to be one of the executives at Petronas being groomed for the leadership role, will be taking over the role effective April 1.

Both Wee and Anuar were brought in by former Petronas head honcho Tan Sri Shamsul Azhar Abbas as part of his effort to bring in experienced personnel into the national oil company.

Wee, 57, with more than 30 years in the oil and gas (O&G) industry including top post stints at oil majors Talisman Energy Malaysia and Shell, has been overseeing Petronas’ core business since May 2010.

In his parting words, Wee stressed that collaboration in the local O&G industry is not happening fast enough compared to places like the US.

“We need to step up to make major changes on how the industry operates in terms of cost, efficiency and effectiveness,” he said in his speech at the conference reception.

He added that in the US, the shale oil industry was able to cope when oil was at US$45 a barrel by improving their efficiency.

“Consolidation may be part of the answer because we know that the number of activities have gone down and there is a mismatch in the industry,” Wee told reporters when asked about the consolidation speed between the local O&G service providers.

When asked what is holding the industry to consolidate, Wee said some were still hoping for the oil price to improve.

“Some believe that the oil price is going to be better, so they’re still trying to hold on,” he said.

He noted that the oil price could stay low for sometimes but could go up as much as US$50 a barrel.