KUALA LUMPUR: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) aims to improve efforts to include Bumiputera companies moving forward and emphasised that Solarvest Energy appointment was merit-based.
“We will enhance efforts to include more Bumiputera participation (in other projects)”, said its president and CEO Tan Sri Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz at a recent press conference to announce Petronas’ financial performance for 2023.
Recently, the national oil and gas company received scrutiny due to its appointment of a non-Bumiputera company, Solarvest Energy Sdn Bhd, to install solar power systems at over 300 Petronas stations nationwide.
Addressing the issue, he explained that the selection was based on merit, with technical standards leading to the turnkey contract.
“I agree in the recent contract there was a package awarded to Solarvest but on behalf of Gentari and Petronas Dagangan, I would like to stress that the selection was based on merit. It was a turnkey contract, off scale and required to be delivered within a timeframe.
“We did include Bumiputera players from a list generated by Sustainable Energy Development Authority but unfortunately the selection process did not result in them being successful,” he added.
Previously, it was reported that the Malaysian Malay Chamber of Commerce have questioned Petronas’ decision for appointing a non-Bumiputera company for the contract.
On contract value, Tengku Taufik shared that it is not worth hundreds of million as claimed by certain parties. “This contract is far smaller than hundreds of million,“ he said.
On the oil and gas (O&G) market, he reckoned that it will face uncertainties due to slower global demand, while supply risks are anticipated to heighten following increased geopolitical tension in the Middle East and Europe regions.
“Average prices for oil (in 2023) were 20% lower than in 2022. At the same time, the energy industry is experiencing a shift towards cleaner solutions,” he added.
On dividend payout for FY 2024, Petronas executive vice-president and group CFO Liza Mustapha said the board has recently approved a dividend payment of RM32 billion.
“It will be paid in the month of March to December. The board just approved (it),“ she remarked.
Petronas has paid RM40 billion in dividends to the government in 2023, while contributing RM2 billion to National Trust Fund.
“Having carefully and rigorously assessed the group’s affordability to continue to fund its operations, service its debts and meet its obligations as well as invest in growth, Petronas last year made the scheduled dividend payment of RM40 billion to the government,” he shared.
