What broke Malaysia’s petro piggybank?
Petronas wades into unchartered waters as politics takes centre stage.
I was thinking about putting a different headline since we’re quite touchy about certain words. But, you know what? Nothing is more apt that describing national oil company Petronas a piggybank.
This is Part 2. If you missed Part 1’s backgrounder, I’ve got you covered👇🏾
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The “Lanyard Bunch”1 kicked off the new year with whispers of job cuts and an uncertain future. The national oil company (NOC) is expected to announce retrenchments, following the loss of a key revenue stream to the Sarawak government.
This development comes as the company deals with a bloated workforce and slow-to-materialise business ventures. These ventures aren't making up for the potential income loss from liquified natural gas (LNG), which accounts for about 30% of total revenue.
Last year, Sarawak announced that Petroleum Sarawak (Petros) would replace Petronas as the sole gas aggregator in the state.
Petros now handles procuring natural gas for distribution and developing the entire network in Sarawak, a role previously held by Petronas.
This shift followed a series of well-timed legal and political moves by the Sarawak government.