Petronas backs faster exploration

The Malaysian NOC will continue with oil and gas exploration despite the energy transition, says CEO Tengku Muhammad Taufik

“We will still explore,” Petronas CEO Tengku Muhammad Taufik told the Energy Intelligence Forum 2021. But the needs of the energy transition—including the NOC’s own pledge to be carbon neutral by 2050—means upstream projects will “have to reach maturation faster... and can be monetised early”. As an explorer, Petronas has to be “more efficient, more cost-effective, cleaner and faster,” Taufik says. Despite the strength of the crude market, Petronas is still applying a “$40/bl test” to assess the viability of potential projects, although Taufik says the company is now looking at $55-60/bl “in the near term”. The Petronas CEO also gave a vigorous defence of gas as a transition fuel, emphasisin