PETRONAS TO RETAIN ITS INVESTMENT IN IRAN

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5 (Bernama) -- Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) has not
made any decision to leave Iran although its contract in the Iranian South Pars
project has expired, says president/chief executive officer, Shamsul Azhar
Abbas.

"At this point in time, there are a couple of opportunities to which I don't
think it is the right time for us to leave Iran," he told reporters after
announcing the company's first-quarter result here Monday.

He said this when asked whether Petronas, Malaysia's national oil company
would leave Iran to avoid US sanctions.

Royal Dutch Shell and other international oil companies have ended their
operations in Iran to avoid US sanctions aimed at halting Iran's nuclear
enrichment programme.

France's Total, Norway's Statoil and Italy's ENI had also announced they
would stop their activities to evade the penalties which target companies doing
business with Iran.

Japanese oil explorer, Inpex Corp, had also said it would exit the oil field
project despite not on the US list targeted for the sanctions.

Shamsul Azhar also said Petronas has no plan to take over Inpex Corp's stake
in Iran's giant Azadegan oilfield project.

Meanwhile, asked to comment on talks that Petronas wanted to divest its
14.5 per cent stake in Cairn India Ltd, he said: "We have not come to a decision
on what to do with our Indian equity."

He said Petronas was actually looking to review its global expansion
overseas and ramp up its domestic operation to focus on the exploration in areas
it had neglected before.

"We hope to rationalise and spend more on development than on exploration
and bring that into the domestic side.

"So, when you talk about development and production, we are on the lookout
for possible acquisitions," he said.

Petronas would spend about US$2 billion on capital expenditure to develop
around 50-60 wells under its three-year exploration and production programme
domestically.

On the regasification project, Shamsul Azhar said, Petronas expected the
plant to be ready by July 2012.

He, however, declined to elaborate.

Petronas Gas Bhd has been comissioned by Petronas to do a study on the
project and this was announced by Petronas Gas Bhd's former chairman Wan
Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin on July 22 at the company's annual general meeting.
-- BERNAMA


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