Petronas to set up two new units, spend up to RM50bil on capex

KUALA LUMPUR: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) will launch a new independent entity by mid-2022 and also set up a centralised carbon management unit as the group embarks on its next phase of growth. The national oil company is also looking to spend up to RM50 billion on capital expenditure (capex) this year.

Petronas president and group chief executive officer Datuk Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz said the new independent entity would focus fully on cleaner energy solutions and capture opportunities in the energy transition segment, alongside its core portfolio.

"We are not ditching hydrocarbons. This new entity will be launched sometime in the middle of this year and will provide customers lower carbon solutions in three core offerings, namely renewables, hydrogen, and green mobility," he said after announcing the group's fourth quarter and the full-year financial performance ended Dec 31, 2021 (FY21) here today.

Tengku Muhammad Taufik said the carbon management unit would accelerate the group's decarbonising efforts across the entire integrated value chain.

Petronas is also looking to spend between RM40 billion and RM50 billion on capex in the financial year ending Dec 31, 2022 (FY22), in line with higher oil prices compared to RM30.5 billion in FY21.

Tengku Muhammad Taufik said the capex will be allocated equally between domestic and international operations. "There was a drop last year in terms of our capex on the back of the Brent crude price. Due to the surge in oil price, our capex guidance definitely will come back within the RM40 billion to RM50 billion level," he added.

Petronas announced a dividend of RM25 billion for FY21. - Bernama