Petronas boosts Q1 LNG sales, production

Malaysian energy giant Petronas reported a 6 percent rise in its quarterly liquefied natural gas sales, boosted by higher trading activities.

The company’s LNG sales volume stood at 9.99 million tonnes in the first quarter compared to 9.40 million tonnes in the same quarter a year ago.

LNG production volumes also increased by 3 per cent to 7.39 million tonnes mainly due to higher feedgas supply and stable Bintulu LNG plant performance, Petronas said.

However, good operational results in the LNG segment could not help Petronas overcome the effects of global demand slump caused by the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.

Petronas logged a 68 per cent drop in first-quarter profit mainly due to declining oil, gas and LNG prices.

The company said it was operating in “unprecedented market conditions” due to the sudden drop in economic activities following global lockdowns caused by the pandemic.

Looking at projects, Petronas had more than a few LNG developments during the quarter and one of them was the arrival of its second floating LNG unit, PFLNG Dua, at the Rotan gas field, located offshore Sabah, Malaysia.

Petronas plans commercialisation of the 1.5 mtpa production capacity unit by the end of the year.

Also worth mentioning, the company has recently entered into a LNG supply deal with China’s Tiger Clean Energy.

The first virtual LNG deal for Petronas signed via a video teleconference will see the Malaysian company supply an ISO tank filling facility on the island of Borneo.