Petronas Plans Clean Energy Business Unit in Global Shuffle

Petronas Chief Executive Officer Tengku Muhammad Taufik announced the changes in a two-hour long internal townhall on Tuesday, according to recording of the meeting reviewed by Bloomberg. He said the launch of the clean energy solutions business is aimed for as early as the middle of this year. Petronas is also divesting assets in Myanmar, Chad and Azerbaijan, according to the people.

“Petronas regularly and pro-actively reviews its business strategy and portfolio in its entirety to ensure that the group remains resilient given the continuously evolving energy landscape,” Petronas said in an emailed reply to questions on Wednesday, adding that it is “not in a position to provide details.”

The changes announced Tuesday include a shuffle in Canada, where Petronas is partnered with a consortium led by Shell Plc on the LNG Canada export project on the country’s west coast. Petronas previously cancelled the Pacific Northwest LNG project in 2017, which was also proposed on Canada’s west coast.

The company’s Petronas Energy Canada unit has proposed a C$1.3 billion ($1 billion) petrochemical plant in the oil and gas-rich province of Alberta.

Petronas Energy Canada CEO Mark Fitzgerald will move from Calgary to Kuala Lumpur to become Petronas Global’s vice president for international assets, the Canadian unit said by email. The Canadian unit’s current chief financial officer, Izwan Ismail, will take on the CEO role in Calgary.