Petronas sells stakes in Irish gas fields to Providence

PETALING JAYA: Providence Resources plc is exercising options to acquire 40% stakes in the Kinsale Head Area gas fields plus the adjoining Seven Heads field from Petronas International Corp Ltd, the overseas investment arm of Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas).

Kinsale Head comprises the Kinsale Head, South West Kinsale and Ballycotton gas fields and also gas storage facility in the Celtic Sea.

Providence said in a statement that an initial payment of US$3.8mil had been made to Petronas for the stakes with the balance due when the deal closed no later than the end of the first quarter of 2010.

The company said under the terms of the option agreement, the stakes in the Kinsale Head area assets would be purchased on the same pro rata basis by which Petronas acquired the stake from Marathon Oil Corp in April at a total value of US$180mil.

According to the company, the gas fields had an average net production of 30 million cu ft of gas per day in the first quarter of this year.

Providence chief executive Tony O’Reilly said in the statement that the transaction allowed the company to capitalise on its extensive operational experience offshore Ireland in combination with Petronas’ proven track record in gas production, storage and trading.

“Upon completion, not only will Providence’s attributable daily production double to over 4,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, but we’ll also gain exposure to existing and new gas storage and trading opportunities, which we see as a huge potential future growth area for the company,” he added.
source:the star online

Petronas gas records pre-tax profit of RM268.716 mln in Q2

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 20 (Bernama) -- Petronas Gas Bhd recorded a lower pre-tax profit of RM268.716 million in the second quarter ended Sept 30, 2009, compared to a pre-tax profit of RM273.595 million in the corresponding quarter in 2008.

Revenue declined to RM823.188 million from RM849.700 million previously, the company said in an announcement last Friday.

Bernama on Friday erroneously named the company as Petronas Dagangan Bhd. The error is regretted.

For the nine months ended Sept 30, Petronas Gas posted a pre-tax profit of RM623.014 million on the back of a revenue of RM1.609 billion.

The company said the decreased revenue, for the quarter under review, was due to lower throughput revenue.

It said while revenue prospects for gas processing and transmission business would be dependent on demand for gas as well as upstream gas production levels, the margin for the gas processing and transmission business would not be impacted.

The company added prospects for the utilities business would depend on the pace of economic recovery and any variation in gas price would be reflected in the pricing to customers.

Petronas Dagangan Records Pre-tax Profit Of RM275.914 Million In Quarter 2

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 23 (Bernama) -- Petronas Dagangan Bhd recorded a higher pre-tax profit of RM275.914 million in the second quarter ended Sept 30, 2009 compared to the pre-tax profit of RM182.933 million posted in the same quarter of 2008.

However, revenue dropped to RM5.152 billion from RM7.69 billion, the company said in a statement to Bursa Malaysia here Monday.

For the six months ended Sept 30, the company posted a pre-tax profit of RM557.98 million on the back of revenue of RM9.932 billion.

The company said the decrease in revenue for the quarter was the result of lower average product selling prices.

On the current financial year, the company anticipated that demand conditions would be challenging but market leadership is projected to be maintained with continuous strategic marketing efforts and initiatives.

However, profits for the current financial year would be impacted by fluctuations in petroleum product costs, given the uncertainties in international oil prices and the global economy.

-- BERNAMA

Gold $5000+

Wang ehsan for Kelantan from next year

KUALA LUMPUR: Kelantan will receive compassionate payment from the federal government from the state's offshore oil production revenue starting next year, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced today.

The prime minister said that just like for Terengganu, the compassionate payment was being given after taking into account the need to continue developing Kelantan and to enhance the wellbeing of the people in line with national development trend.
"To ensure that the money is enjoyed directly by the people of Kelantan, the allocation will be in the form of development projects and poverty eradication programmes and will be channelled directly by the federal government after discussion with the state government," he said in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Najib was replying to questions previously raised by several MPs from Kelantan regarding oil royalties for the state.
He said the federal government had thoroughly studied the petroleum royalty issue mooted by the Kelantan government, including the legal aspects related to the powers of the government and the management of the country's petroleum revenue.

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/articles/20091104114207/Article/index_html

Research and Markets: Malaysia Oil and Gas Report Q4 2009 Reveals That Malaysia Will Account for 1.95% of the Asia Pacific Regional Oil Demand by 2013

DUBLIN--(Business Wire)--
Research and Markets
(http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/fcc350/malaysia_oil_and_g) has
announced the addition of the "Malaysia Oil and Gas Report Q4 2009" report to
their offering.

This Malaysia Oil and Gas Report provides industry professionals and
strategists, corporate analysts, oil and gas associations, government
departments and regulatory bodies with independent forecasts and competitive
intelligence on Malaysia oil and gas industry

The latest Malaysia Oil & Gas Report from BMI forecasts that the country will
account for 1.95% of Asia Pacific regional oil demand by 2013, while providing
8.52% of supply. Asia Pacific regional oil use of 21.40mn barrels per day (b/d)
in 2001 reached 25.67mn b/d in 2008. It should average 24.83mn b/d in 2009, then
rise to around 28.51mn b/d by 2013. Regional oil production was just under
8.41mn b/d in 2001, and averaged 8.45mn b/d in 2008. It is set to increase to
8.75mn b/d by 2013. In 2001 the region was importing an average 12.99mn b/d.
This total had risen to an estimated 17.22mn b/d in 2008, and is forecast to
reach 19.76mn b/d by 2013.

In terms of natural gas, in 2008 the region consumed 459bn cubic metres (bcm)
and demand of 562bcm is targeted for 2013. Production of 356bcm in 2008 should
reach 488bcm in 2013, but implies net imports easing from an estimated 102bcm
per annum in 2008 to 74bcm in 2013. This is in spite of many Asian gas producers
being major exporters. Malaysia's share of gas consumption in 2008 was 6.69%,
while its share of production was 17.54%. By 2013 its share of gas consumption
is forecast to be 6.02%, with the country accounting for 17.41% of supply.

For 2009 as a whole, the publisher is now assuming an average OPEC basket price
of US$55.00 per barrel (bbl), a 41.5% decline year-on-year (y-o-y). This
represents an upgrade from the US$52 forecast they have stuck with during the
past three quarters. Their OPEC basket assumption delivers likely Brent, WTI,
Urals and Dubai prices of US$56.30, US$57.50, US$55.60 and US$55.60/bbl
respectively. For 2010,the publisher expects to see a recovery to US$60.00/bbl
for the OPEC price (up from their previous forecast of US$58), gaining further
ground to US$65.00 in 2011 and to US$70.00/bbl in 2012. Their post-2010
forecasts are unchanged and the publisher is continuing to use a long-term price
assumption of US$70.00 for 2013-2018.

In 2009, BMI is now assuming a global average gasoline price of US$62.12/bbl,
with the fuel having peaked in June. The overall y-o-y fall in 2009 gasoline
prices is put at 40.0%. The BMI gasoil forecast is for an average price of
US$68.62/bbl, assuming a monthly high of US$92.49/bbl in December. The full year
outturn represents a 43.4% fall from the 2008 level. The annual jet price level
for 2009 is forecast to be US$65.17/bbl. This compares with US$124.95/bbl in
2008. The 2009 average naphtha price is put by BMI at US$49.06/bbl, down 43.9%
from the previous year's level.

Malaysian real GDP is now forecast by BMI to fall by 3.4% in 2009, compared with
the 2008 growth rate of 4.6%. The publisher is assuming 2.6% growth in 2010,
4.5% in 2011, 4.7% in 2012, followed by 4.5% in 2013. State-owned Petronas
operates in partnership with various international oil companies (IOCs) under a
production sharing system that the publisher believes will result in oil
production of 745,000b/d by 2013. Consumption is forecast to rise by up to 2%
per annum to 2013, implying demand of 557,000b/d. Malaysia's gas exports are set
to rise from 31.8bcm in 2008 to 51.2bcm in 2013, with production climbing from
62.5bcm to 85.0bcm over the period.

Key Topics Covered:

* Executive Summary
* SWOT Analysis
* Malaysia Energy Market Overview
* Business Environment Ranking
* Business Environment
* Industry Forecast Scenario
* Long-Term Energy Outlook
* Company Monitor
* Glossary of Terms
* Methodology & Risks To Forecasts

Companies Mentioned:

* Petroliam Nasional-Bhd (Petronas)
* ExxonMobil Sdn Bhd
* Shell Malaysia Ltd
* ConocoPhillips
* BP
* LTAT
* Chevron
* Murphy Oil
* Hess
* Talisman
* Gulf Petroleum
* Total
* Newfield Exploration

For more information visit
http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/fcc350/malaysia_oil_and_g

Research and Markets
Laura Wood, Senior Manager,
press@researchandmarkets.com
U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907
Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

Copyright Business Wire 2009

Petronas Plans To Maintain Capex At US$12 Billion

KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 (Bernama) -- National oil company Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) plans to maintain capital expenditure (capex) for its current financial year ending March 31, 2010, at US$12 billion, president and chief executive officer Tan Sri Hassan Marican said today.

Speaking to reporters after announcing the group's results for the financial year ended March 31, 2009, he said that 60 percent of the amount will be utilised for domestic operations and the remaining 40 percent for international operations.

For the financial year just ended, the group increased its capex to RM44.0 billion from RM37.6 billion.

During the year, the group reinvested 21.1 percent or RM21.9 billion of its profit before taxation, royalty and export duties.

The reinvestment was significantly lower compared to other major oil and gas companies.

However, Hassan said that Petronas sees 35 to 40 percent of its profit as a comfortable level for the reinvestment.

The reinvestment is necessary to ensure the group's sustainable operations and to generate future revenue and profit, he said.

On overseas expansion, Hassan said the group was looking to strengthen its presence in the countries that it was already operating.

As at March 31, 2009, Petronas is involved in various activities along the oil and gas value chain in more than 30 countries worldwide.

Asked about the speculation concerning his successor, Hassan said: "There are always speculations on my successor. I think that question needs to be addressed to the government."

He said that under his employment contract, his term will end in February next year.

-- BERNAMA