Malaysia: 'Petronas exploring new energy avenues'

Malaysia: 'Petronas exploring new energy avenues'

PETROLIAM Nasional Bhd (Petronas) is considering venturing into renewable
energy (RE) to stay relevant in the global energy industry, said president
and chief executive officer Tan Sri Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin.

Petronas could venture into solar, wind or other new energy sources, Wan
Zulkiflee said, adding that the matter was in the evaluation stage.

"We are evaluating on what type of new energies are suitable for us and
where we can make money. It is not a matter of just being involved in RE, or
for the sake of following others who are already involved.

"We want to know where we can position Petronas for the long term because in
all of our analyses, oil and gas will still be our core business for at
least in the next 20 to 30 years.

"We are currently exploring all new energy avenues such as solar, wind or
other energies, but more work needs to be done before we decide on what type
of RE that we are keen on," he told NST Business in an interview recently.

RE is expected to grow rapidly with the weight of growth shifting towards
Asia, according to a 2017 energy outlook report published by BP recently.

Renewables in power are projected to be the fastest-growing fuel source at
7.6 per cent per year, more than quadrupling until year 2035.

Renewables account for 40 per cent of the growth in power generation,
causing their share of global power to rise from seven per cent in 2015 to
nearly 20 per cent by 2035.

"In Petronas, we do a 20-year scenario. From our analyses, until 2037, oil
and gas will still be our core business, but we see investment in new energy
as a potential business opportunity for the longer term.

"On a global energy mix, based on our analyses as well, which ever way you
slice and dice, oil and gas will still be about 55 per cent of the energy
mix globally.

"For the renewable, it is about 18 per cent (of the global energy mix). So,
we are definitely evaluating the options we want to delve into. There are
many parts of the value chain we need to determine first before making a
firm decision on it," Wan Zulkiflee explained.

"There are a lot of work to be done in-house, and until we have completed
it, then only can we say for certain this is what we are going to do, why we
are going to do it, and how we are going to do it. That will be the time we
will announce it," he added.

The European Union (EU) is expected to lead the way in terms of the
penetration of renewables, with the share of renewables within the EU power
sector doubling to reach almost 40 per cent by 2035.

However, China will be the largest source of growth over the next 20 years,
adding more renewable power than the EU and the United States combined.

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Link to Original Article: Malaysia: 'Petronas exploring new energy
avenues'

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com