PETROLIAM Nasional Bhd (Petronas) said yesterday the government would have to be consulted and its approval required if the company's president and chief executive officer Tan Sri Mohd Hassan Marican was offered the job of advising on the management of Iraq's oil industry.
A Petronas spokesman told Starbiz that the corporation was aware of reports in the Financial Times and The Independent of Britain which named Hassan as one of two Muslim oil executives being considered by the US administration to help manage Iraq's oil industry in the post-Saddam Hussein era.
“We are aware of the reports in the Financial Times and The Independent but to date we have not been approached and any decision will require the approval of the government of Malaysia,'' he said
He stressed that this response was issued on behalf of Petronas and was not Hassan's personal statement on the matter.
StarBiz carried a report yesterday quoting the British newspapers as saying that Hassan was one of the two Muslim candidates likely to be tapped for the job of helping to manage the Iraqi oil industry.
According to the newspapers, the US is looking to appoint an experienced and respected Muslim oil executive from outside the Gulf region for the job.
Hassan was identified as one of the possible candidates, given his success in steering Petronas to become one of the biggest government-owned oil multinational companies in the world.
US Vice-President Dick Cheney was quoted as saying last week that the White House was planning an organisation to oversee the functions of Iraq's oil ministry, consisting primarily of Iraqis with some international advisers.
According to reports, a new interim authority is needed to resume Iraqi oil exports, the country's main revenue earner.
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