KUCHING, April 26: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) refuted claims that the company has deactivated 14 oil rigs and shut down 14 projects, as reported by a national daily on April 24.
In a press statement dated April 25, Petronas clarified that it has not shut down any of its rigs, offshore Malaysia, other than those concluding their drilling campaigns or are under temporary suspensions due to the current Covid-19 pandemic.
“As at the date of this release, 18 rigs are in operation within Malaysia waters. Petronas also wishes to clarify that there was temporary suspension of projects at some worksites due to the Movement Control Order (MCO) implemented by the government,” it added.
Petronas was responding to the news report alleging that the company deactivated 14 of its oil rigs, including shutting down 14 projects.
Petronas also disclosed that most of its projects have either resumed work activities or will be resuming soon upon securing the necessary approval from the government.
The company added it is striving to minimise the impact to its planned domestic capital expenditure (CAPEX) programme in the face of the current challenges.
“However, we do expect that some projects will be naturally delayed due to the prolonged lockdowns implemented globally and the MCO in Malaysia, and further disruptions anticipated to the global supply chain,” it added. — DayakDaily
