Malaysia’s national oil and gas company has reported after-tax income of $8.63 billion (MYR40.2 billion) for the first six months of 2023, down 13 percent from the same period last year because of the lower prices.
Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) collected $36.57 billion (MYR170.3 billion) in revenue in the January-June period, down from $36.59 billion (MYR170.4 billion) in the first two quarters of 2022. “This is primarily due to lower average realized prices for major products in line with lower reference prices, partially offset by improved sales volumes, primarily of petroleum and petrochemical products and the favorable impact of foreign exchange” , the state-owned company said in a press release last week.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization stood at $15.14 billion (MYR 70.5 billion) in the first two quarters of 2023, down from $17.76 billion (MYR 82.7 billion) in the same period from last year
It sold 2.214 billion cubic feet per day of gas to customers in Peninsular Malaysia in the first half of 2023, as well as delivered 200 cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Petronas LNG complex in Sarawak’s Bintulu district and 19 cargoes of LNG from floating installations. PFLNG Satu and PFLNG Dua to customers worldwide, according to its quarterly results announcement.
Petronas produced 2.425 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) on average in the first half of 2023, the same as in the corresponding period in 2022. It sold 12.8 billion liters during the period, up 6.7 % more, driven by Petronas Dagangan Bhd’s retail and aviation sectors.
Petronas said it started production at 11 hydrocarbon projects, seven domestic and four overseas, in the first half of 2023, while making final investment decisions for 12 more, nine in Malaysia and three abroad. It also made five oil and gas discoveries in five blocks in the state of Sarawak on the Malaysian side of the island of Borneo, Petronas said in the press release.
In the chemicals segment, Kuala Lumpur-based Petronas sold 4.9 million metric tonnes as plant utilization improved to 89.1% compared to 79.2% in the first semester of 2022.
Petronas generated $12.41 billion (MYR57.8 billion) from operating activities in the first half, down seven percent. It enters the second half with $46.73 billion (MYR217.586 billion) in cash and cash equivalents and total current liabilities of $23.18 billion (MYR107.957 billion).
Petronas declared $75,163.76 (MYR350,000) per ordinary share on February 23, with $3.44 billion (MYR16 billion) paid out of a total of $7.52 billion (MYR35 billion). On June 22, it declared $10,737.68 (MYR50,000) per ordinary unit, or $1.07 billion (MYR5 billion) in total.
“Looking forward, we expect to face increasingly difficult headwinds, including a bearish energy market for the rest of the year due to slowing global economic activity,” said the chairman and CEO Tengku Muhammad Taufik in a statement.
“Despite short-term challenges, we will continue to focus on preparing the organization for the long term. This will mean increasing investment in our core business, even as we reduce emissions and invest in cleaner energy to ensure the group’s resilience . portfolio, aligned with our energy transition strategy.”
Petronas said it had 23.04 million metric tons of cumulative carbon dioxide equivalent emissions from its Malaysian operations at the end of the second quarter of 2023. “This was a three percent increase during the period , primarily due to increased production at Downstream refineries,” its earnings announcement said.
During the first half, Petronas signed an agreement with TotalEnergies SE and Mitsui & Co. Ltd. to establish a “commercial storage service” of carbon dioxide that would serve the Asian industrial sector, according to a press release from the French global energy giant on June 26.
“Partners will assess various CO2 storage sites in the Malaysia Basin, including saline aquifers and depleted marine fields,” the statement said.
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