KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 20): Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) said it is all for the liberalisation of the market, given the government's upcoming reforms for the power sector, and pointed out that Petronas Gas Bhd (PetGas) has already taken the necessary steps over the past few years to prepare itself to compete in an open market.
Petronas president and group chief executive officer Tan Sri Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin said the national oil major supports the government's move towards a more open market, as it would function more efficiently.
"We have always supported the liberalisation of the gas market, which is why, for many years, we have prepared the third party access for our regasification terminals (RGTs) and pipelines. A liberalised market is something that we have always prepared ourselves for, because it would be a more efficient market.
"We can eliminate all the distortions in terms of subsidies and such. We need world-class competitors," he said at a press conference held in conjunction with the announcement of Petronas' results for the first half of 2019.
Petronas executive vice president of gas and new energy business Adif Zulkifli, who is also chairman of PetGas, echoed Wan Zulkiflee's support for the liberalisation of the market.
"We expect the power sector to reach a market price parity for gas in October this year, and it will be implemented in January 2020. From then on, it will be open competition. We are ready for that," he said.
Meanwhile, Wan Zulkiflee pointed out that as an LNG player, Petronas is already operating in many open markets including in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and China.