TTF: Dr Mahathir Mohamad used to raid Petronas like nobody’s business. Back in the nineties, the ‘raids’ afforded him the luxury of funding most of his mega-projects, including the construction of KLCC, the Sepang circuit and Putrajaya. And let’s not forget the time he used the oil and gas giant to bail out his son’s company.
That explains why Petronas used to register cash balances that seldom exceeded the RM30 billion mark. Under Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak, things changed – the company registered a cash balance of RM128.2 billion towards the end of 2017 before it received USD9 billion that Saudi’s Aramco paid to acquire the Pengerang project.
And today, Mahathir wants to sell parts of Petronas.
Day by day, it’s looking more and more to me as if Najib ‘repaired’ Petronas just to let Mahathir rape it once more. Later today, I will reveal in minute detail the exact reason the Prime Minister wants to do away with parts of the company. We shall then see if his sons decide to sue me or if the Prime Minister himself drags me to court.
In the meantime, consider what was reported by NST Online yesterday:
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian state energy firm Petroliam Nasional Berhad, or Petronas, on Wednesday said its first quarter profit rose 26 percent, boosted by higher oil prices.
January-March quarter profit totalled RM 13 billion ($3.26 billion), up from RM 10.3 billion in the same period last year. Revenue rose 2.5 percent to RM 57.9 billion, according to a statement issued on the company’s website.
Petronas said it expected overall year-end performance to be “satisfactory” subject to the volatility of oil prices and foreign exchange rates.
“While oil prices have trended upwards, the industry must continue to be diligent in institutionalising the cost-effective discipline and the drive for efficiencies pursued over the past few years,” said Chief Executive Datuk Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin.
Petronas, a major contributor to Malaysia’s budget and one of the country’s biggest employers, embarked on a cost-cutting drive in early 2015 to offset lower oil prices at that time.
Its total production volume for the quarter rose to 2,461 thousand barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day compared to 2,387 tboe/day in the same period last year.
Petronas also said its Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (RAPID) project in the southern Malaysian state of Johor is on track for a 2019 start up.
The company said that the development was 90 percent completed at the end of April.
Source: NST Online
