Malaysia,
The relevance to LOIL ís fleeting yet...
vienna, 6 july 99, the malaysian state oil corporation,
petronas, said its turnover for the year ended 31 march 1999 increased
by 21 per cent to usd 11.1 billion, supported by a 34 per cent
contribution from its overseas businesses.
but group profits before tax fell 25 per cent to usd 3.12 billion
while profit after tax plunged 31.5 per cent to usd 1.79 billion,
according to opec's correspondent in kuala lumpur.
petronas' operations are sensitive to three factors, namely
crude oil prices, sales volumes and the exchange rate.
in line with the deep fall in world oil prices, the average price
of malaysian crude declined by 30 per cent to usd 12.97 a barrel,
compared with usd 18.60 the previous year.
the impact of the lower prices on revenue, however, was capped by
the higher ringgit-dollar exchange rate, said petronas.
with the malaysian ringgit pegged at 3.80 ringgit per dollar
since september 1998, the average exchange rate during the financial
year was higher at 3.878 ringgit to the dollar, compared with 3.168
ringgit in the previous financial period.
increasing revenue from the group's significantly expanded
international operations, together with the more favourable exchange
rate, lifted revenues to a record level in dollar terms, said
petronas.
the overall crude gross sales volume was 7.4 per cent lower at
221.5 million barrels, compared with 239.2 million in 1998.
lng exports for the year generated a revenue of usd 2.03 billion,
a 14 per cent drop from the previous year due to the 29 per cent lower
average lng prices and deferment of 12 cargoes.
petronas said production sharing contractors invested a record
usd 1.50 billion on exploration and production activities, the highest
in the last five years and 264 million above 1998's upstream
investment.
as at 1 january 1999, malaysia's crude oil reserves stood at 3.63
billion barrels, down from 3.88 billion in 1998, and gas reserves
totalled 85.8 trillion cu. ft, compared with 1998's 86.9 trillion
cubic feet.
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