Petronas likely to take a hit, may make provisions

PETALING JAYA: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) could incur an impairment charge of about C$632mil (RM2.16bil) following its decision to abort the proposed C$36bil (RM124bil) Pacific NorthWest liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in western Canada.

The impairment, which would have an effect on the profitability of the national oil company but not its cash-flow situation, is estimated based on the provisions made by one of the joint-venture (JV) partners in the LNG project. According to wire reports, Japan Petroleum Exploration Co (Japex) that has a 10% stake in the Pacific NorthWest LNG project consortium would take a loss of about C$102mil (RM349mil) in the year to end-March following Petronas’ decision to abort its Canadian LNG project.