Ku Li claims Petronas makes 'huge oil discovery'

Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah today claimed he was told that the national oil company, Petronas, has made a “very big discovery of an oil field, probably the biggest in the world”.

This discovery, he asserted, meant that Petronas would have a very good future. However, the founding chairman of Petronas declined to go into details.

"I was told... no announcement (was) made (about) a very big discovery of oil. I was told there was a big discovery... which could depress the oil price. I was also told it is the biggest oil field or oil well (not only) in this part of world but also in any part of the world.

"I cannot disclose the (location)... I cannot tell you," he said when asked repeatedly about the discovery, which he mentioned in his talk titled, 'Conversations on the Constitution and Oil Royalty - A Constitutional Right?' organised by the Bar Council today.

He also did not identify who had told him of the developments in Petronas.

Razaleigh had recently spoken against the federal government's stand that the Kelantan government had no right to demand royalty for the oil extracted from the state's offshore area.

Razaleigh, a former finance minister, said a large oil find means Petronas had a good future but added, it must be properly managed.

"I hope Petronas will be managed well... no leakages, so that money will come back to the people," he added.

Petronas most profitable in Asia

He also said that he was very happy to note that despite Petronas having to spend money for the construction of the Petronas Twin Towers here and the development of Putrajaya, the federal administrative capital, the national oil company "is still in the black, with money and had some reserves left".

Petronas contributed about RM75 billion annually to the federal government, which is equivalent to about 42 percent of the country's revenue.

Since it was founded on Aug 17, 1974, Petronas has grown to be an integrated international oil and gas company with business interests in 31 countries.

Petronas is ranked among Fortune Global 500's largest corporations in the world.

Fortune ranks Petronas as the 95th largest company in the world in 2008 and 80th largest in 2009.

It also ranks Petronas as the eighth most profitable company in the world and the most profitable in Asia.

Oil prices have fallen in the last two weeks by up to 2.8 percent to below US$80 a barrel early Friday. London Brent Crude for May fell US$1.60 a barrel to US$79.88.

- Bernama