PETRONAS REVVING UP OPS IN INDIA
National oil giant to invest US$150m in next five years
PETROLIAM Nasional Bhd (Petronas) is enhancing its business strategy in India by strengthening and expanding its presence in the world’s fastestgrowing economy.
Petronas, through its lubricant arm Petronas Lubricants International, is investing US$150 million (RM643.83 million) over the next five years.
This includes a US$50 million lubricant blending plant with a 110 million-litre capacity in Patalganga, which is expected to be completed by March next year.
The national oil company also hopes to further contribute to the energy needs of India, which is the world’s fourth-largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) market.
President and group chief executive officer Datuk Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin said Petronas had set its sights on India’s energy sector to leverage on the country’s LNG, consumer products and clean energy demands to fuel its growth.
“Petronas aims to continue to be part of India’s exciting journey and support its sustainable growth ambitions and commitments through further collaborations with our existing partners as well as through new strategic-fit opportunities,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Wan Zulkiflee, who is currently on Petronas’ annual official visit to meet with India’s industry leaders and partners, said high on its priority would be the expansion of its LNG supply there to help meet the rising demands from the power, agriculture and transportation sectors.
“Leveraging on its long history and sterling reputation in the global LNG business, Petronas has the added advantage to provide tailor-made solutions across the LNG value chain such as flexibility, engineering expertise and experience in operations management,” he added.
Petronas is the third largest LNG player globally, with annual supply capacity of over 30 million tonnes.
To date, Petronas has delivered 15 LNG cargoes to India and recently delivered the first cargo produced from its floating LNG production facility, the first such facility in the world, to India.