Published on: Thursday, December 31, 2020
By: Bernama
Photo: Bernama
Kuala Lumpur: The oil and gas industry outlook in 2021 is expected to remain challenging due to the unprecedented demand destruction from the COVID-19 pandemic which has made a profound impact on both the domestic and global markets, said Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas).
The national oil company has maintained a prudent view despite the collapse in oil prices and will continue to accelerate the transition towards a low-carbon economy, spurring policy intervention and global collaborations across industries.
“Although gas remains a crucial and cleaner source of fuel, diversification into renewable energy is imperative.
ON the 83rd floor of the Petronas Twin Towers last week, Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz, the president and CEO of Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), met up with The Edge for a 2½-hour interview, the longest that any CEO of the national oil company has had with us so far.
And the hours seemed to pass very quickly with humorous exchanges and banter, but with all questions answered and peppered with facts on the oil company and its direction. It was a frank and good interview.
Then again, the times they are a-changing and for the first time since it was set up in 1974 to become the custodian of the country’s hydrocarbon resources and main regulatory body for upstream activities by concessionaires such as Shell and ExxonMobil at the time Petronas may slip into the red. It is a situation brought about by the total collapse of the oil and gas (O&G) market and economic standstill owing to Covid-19 and impairments from the acquisition of assets a few years ago, when things were
PETALING JAYA: It has been a rough, bumpy ride for the oil and gas (O&G) industry and the situation will likely drag on into 2021, amid signs of green shoots.
This will be the case at least for the first half of the year, before the bulls pay the sector a visit in the second half.
The spread of the new Covid-19 strain and renewed lockdowns in various parts of the world have put a damper on the global economic recovery and the effects were expected to spill over to the first half of 2021 before inoculation becomes widely available.
Brent crude oil has rebounded above the US$50 per barrel mark and it is projected to trade within this range in 2021 as analysts remain cautiously optimistic on the sector’s outlook.
FIVE years ago, on Dec 12, all 196 nations in the world signed a treaty in Paris to curb climate change. The United Nations official behind the deal, Christiana Figueres, said afterwards that it had “ignited a huge flame of hope” after two decades of tortuous negotiations.
The signatories all committed to cut their carbon emissions in order to limit global warming to “well below” 2°C above pre-industrial times, if not 1.5°C. Today, that promise has not only failed to materialise but total emissions have climbed compared to three decades ago, according to news emerging from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 31): Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) president and group chief executive officer Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz said today the outlook for the oil and gas (O&G) industry remains challenging due to emerging fresh waves in the number of Covid-19 pandemic cases and prevailing uncertainties over OPEC+ crude oil production cuts in 2021.
Tengku Muhammad Taufik said in the latest Petronas Activity Outlook report, which was published today, that the effects of the pandemic are difficult to estimate, while the impact from OPEC+ decisions cannot be overstated as the industry continues to face the dual impact of demand destruction combined with an oil price rout due to the supply glut.