Oil trading - the dark side of Petronas



Last week, a general financial media carried a story which Canada dictated to block a planned US$ 5.3 million merger of Calgary-based Progress Energy Resources by Petronas. According to these reports, a country's industry minister, Christian Paradishad, released a statement observant he had created to Petronas observant he was "not satisfied which a proposed investment is expected to be of net great to Canada".

Much of a subsequent analysis has focused upon questions associated to Canada's policy upon foreign takeovers as great as a investment policy generally with courtesy to foreign state-owned entities. This should be of small seductiveness to us.

Of greater seductiveness to Malaysians should be how a Petronas takeover of Progress will great a country. Is it in a many appropriate interests? What have been a pros as great as cons of this really expensive takeover? Let us regularly recollect which a association belongs to all Malaysians, as great as not simply to a supervision of a day or a organisation of association directors.

Petronas has done well. Since a incorporation, Petronas has grown to be an integrated general oil as great as gas association with commercial operation interests in many countries. The organisation is engaged in a wide spectrum of inorganic substance activities, together with upstream exploration as great as production of oil as great as gas to downstream oil refining. Oil trade is a single of a pass activities of a group.
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As everyone knows, Petronas provides a estimable source of income, with 45 percent of a government's bill contingent upon P! etronas' dividend. Is this focus upon a single single indicator of success - providing funds to run a supervision - perhaps a reason why you have been but eyes to probable darker aspects of a company's altogether lane record?

Facts as great as figures upon oil trade needed

Any trade commercial operation - which Petronas to some extent is - has to observe some pass principles to be successful. These include:
  • Don't try to envision a future.
  • Flexibility in brazen contracts as no a single knows when a marketplace will move.
  • Having trade relations which maximise your options.
  • In new years, questions have been lifted as to whether a state-owned oil commercial operation executes these or some alternative principles when it engages in trading. In addition, allegations have been done with courtesy to probable cronyism in some of a deals.

    NONEPerhaps a many serious claim was a disclosure done by Jeffrey Kitingan(right)in Jun 2008 which 80 percent of Petronas oil is not sole but delay to a world marketplace though is funneled by six choice holders. Apparently these choice holders or selling agents have obtained their supply from Petronas at great below marketplace cost for a subsequent twenty to thirty years.

    If this claim proves to be scold afterwards these profits would be much less than what could have been realised had a sales been conducted by open as great as some-more pure brazen sales.

    When he initially done these allegations some-more than 4 years ago, Jeffrey asked for a white paper or royal commission of inquiry to examine this scandal. He additionally asked for a examination of a Petronas agreements as great as to have Petronas open as great as transparent.

    As distant as we am aware, there has b! een no r esponse from Petronas or a supervision upon these concerns. If what amounts to a steam from giving contracts but open tenders is taking place, afterwards it is required which a issue be taken up during this entrance election.

    What creates a trade strategy of Petronas irregular is which oil is a vital as great as abating resource. Su! rest any oil trader is aware which a cost trend in view of nonesuch as great as miss of substitution can usually be upwards, with a grade of cost enlarge a usually major risk. Also, it does not have commercial operation clarity to tie up so much of brazen sales with prolonged tenure contracts since a mix of short, center as great as prolonged tenure contracts is clearly a higher strategy.

    Malaysia's Transparency Record in 2010 scored below normal in a examine upon clarity of income management of extractive industries which covered 41 countries. The nation obtained 48.4 points compared with a examine normal of 51.8 out of a limit of 100 points in a joint examine by Revenue Watch Institute as great as Transparency International.

    azlanMalaysia sits in a organisation of countries with "partial income transparency", which is countries which provide citizens with information about extractive sectors, nonetheless uncover important clarity gaps in a single or some-more specific categories of (the Revenue Watch Index).

    Malaysia in fact falls below a normal 50.1 points obtained by alternative Asia Pacific countries.

    Malaysia is at a back of Indonesia, which scored an normal 50 points, as great as additionally is at a back of Papua New Guinea, Trinidad as great as Tobago, Kazakhstan as great as even Timor Leste.

    According to a examine which rates countries upon accessibility of information upon contracts, chartering as great as supervis! ion paym ents, as great as institutional structure constrained transparency, Malaysia drew a poor mark for entrance to informatio! n upon cont! racts as great as chartering procedures.

    Petronas needs to be accountable to a country

    According to a Petroleum Development Act 1974, Petronas is usually accountable to a budding apportion of a day, not even to Parliament. This is wrong.

    In a new speech, Woo Wing Thye, a distinguished Professor of Economics who presently heads a Penang think-tank, Penang Institute, forked out a hazard which exists in a pass role which Petronas plays in a country's finances.

    According to Prof Woo, a world's knowledge with state oil companies is which they would destroy in a center of a boom. Indonesia's Pertamina failed in 1974 in a center of a Opec boom as great as PetroMexico collapsed in a surrounded by of a second Opec shock.

    "These state oil companies were overextended as great as not really transparent," Woo said. "They were basically a cash registers of their governments. It is a great thing to have some-more clarity since a change sheet of Petronas links but delay to a supervision budget. If Petronas is in trouble, a supervision bill is in trouble."

    We need to take these cautionary words seriously. The initial step to remodel is to open up a account books of a association generally associated to oil trade as great as to examine a allegations of Jeffrey Kitingan.

    Petronas belongs to all Malaysians as great as a infancy of them have been bumiputeras who have been better educated than before. They can see all these misuse of power, crime as great as mismanagement as great as we believe they will know how to opinion in a entrance general election.
    KOON YEW YIN, a retired chartered engineer, is a philanthropist.
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