Petronas not exiting Canada, says group CEO

KUALA LUMPUR: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) has reiterated that the company is not exiting Canada.
'Canada is not on our exit radar. We're not exiting Canada. We are constantly entertaining overtures and proposals.
'That is going to be the natural course of business and it (Canada) is a very resource-endowed geography,' president and group chief executive officer Tan Sri Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz said at an editors' briefing here today.
Tengku Muhammad Taufik said, in fact, liquefied natural gas (LNG) is coming on stream from Canada, with the first cargo in a couple of weeks.
He said there will be a regular shipping out of LNG from Canada, which is at 25 per cent.
'We have 53 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of reserves. It is strategically positioned between that coast of Canada and Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and even China.
'Some other LNG routes are compromised by geopolitical hostility... That is another advantage. That was the rationale to do this. We built that node. We wanted to make sure it's strategically positioned, having locational advantage.
Petronas hopes to have more engagements and constructive dialogues for the national oil firm to activate additional LNG leverage in Canada.
'We hope that the Canadian (new) government will be more appreciative and supportive of it becoming a new, cleaner energy source for the rest of the developing world,' he added.
Tengku Muhammad Taufik stressed that it was crucial for Petronas to preserve its position in market share in the LNG space in Canada while also looking at how to build its upstream portfolio effectively.
Responding on a question whether Petronas will look to liquidate some assets or diversify, Tengku Muhammad Taufik said Petronas would continue its asset rationalisation to keep its operations lean.
He noted that the divestment exercise was done in Argentina as Petronas could not make its assets worked in the country and found an interested party to acquire them.
In April this year, Buenos Aires-based Vista Energy has reportedly acquired Petronas' 50 per cent stake in the La Amarga Chica oil field in Argentina's Vaca Muerta shale basin for about US$1.5 billion (RM7.1 billion).
The second-biggest crude oil producer in the area will pay US$900 million upfront for the stake, with one-third of that sum financed through a loan from Banco Santander SA, while the remainder will be paid in two instalments in 2029 and 2030.

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