Malaysia

Gas will remain core to Petronas' business as a natural partner to renewables, Petronas CEO Tengku Muhammad Taufik told the Energy Intelligence Forum 2021. The Malaysian state-owned company, which is aspiring to become carbon neutral by 2050 , will also diversify its portfolio with investments in hydrogen and ammonia. But the foray into hydrogen/ammonia is not intended to displace LNG as natural gas remains an integral part of many countries’ energies mix. Petronas is one of the largest LNG producers in the world with its nine-train 30 million ton/yr Bintulu LNG Complex in Sarawak, with gas representing 70% of its portfolio. “In any given future, in any given decarbonized scenario, we do not see it being a hydrocarbon-free scenario,” Taufik said, adding that operators need to be more responsible in the way they produce oil and gas to better contain emissions. Even the International Energy Agency's most accelerated policy shift scenario shows that gas will still have a significant part to play in servicing the energy mix within the next two to three decades, Taufik said. “If you take a view over the long run, we are looking at a possible scenario even within a decade hitting a possible high 500 or even 600 million tons/yr of total LNG being consumed,” Taufik said. Taufik touted gas as the cleanest-burning fossil fuel and a readily available tool for countries between policy shifts.