Friday 29 Mar 2024
By
main news image

Petronas_060215

KUALA LUMPUR: High-ranking government officials are said to have met and interviewed Datuk Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin, Datuk Mohd Anuar Taib and Md Arif Mahmood, who are three out of four candidates in the running to take over as chief executive officer (CEO) and president of Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) when Tan Sri Shamsul Azhar Abbas’ contract expires.

It is learnt that another candidate Datuk Ahmad Nizam Salleh, who is currently CEO of South Africa-based Engen Petroleum Ltd, an 80%-owned subsidiary of Petronas, will be meeting the government officials today.

“Basically, these are the four people who have been shortlisted for the top job (at Petronas). It’s a close race. Ahmad Nizam was summoned back (from South Africa) for this, hence his (interview) is a day later,” a source close to the matter told The Edge Financial Daily.

Shamsul’s contract, which expires this month, is understood to have been extended, either until end-July or end-September this year.  

According to sources, the candidates shortlisted for the all-important job are Wan Zulkiflee and the well-connected Ahmad Nizam.

Wan Zulkiflee, 54, currently serves as Petronas’ chief operating officer and executive vice-president of the group’s downstream business. He also earned his stripes as chairman of Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd and Petronas Dagangan Bhd.

Wan Zulkiflee was said to have been in the running to replace former Petronas CEO, Tan Sri Hassan Merican before Shamsul was eventually selected. Many cited his young age at the time as the barrier to Petronas’ top post.

Ahmad Nizam, 59, is also a familiar figure in the CEO selection process as he was a candidate to replace Hassan back in February 2010. Ahmad Nizam is understood to have been close to Hassan.

“He is also more politically well connected than the rest,” said the source.

Meanwhile, Mohd Anuar, 46, is the vice-president and CEO of Petronas Development and Production and has been heading the upstream development and production division of Petronas since 2012.

While he may be considered a newcomer to Petronas, his résumé includes a 20-year stint at oil major Shell Malaysia. At the time, he served as vice-president of Shell Upstream International Asia and managing director of Sarawak Shell Bhd and Sabah Shell Petroleum Co Ltd.

Md Arif, 53, is currently Petronas’ vice-president of corporate strategic planning. He joined Petronas in 1984 and has served various senior positions within the Petronas group including as vice-president of oil business, managing director of Asean Bintulu Fertilizer Sdn Bhd, senior general manager of retail business division at Petronas Dagangan Bhd and general manager of (gas processing-plant B) of Petronas Gas Bhd.

He is seen as a dark horse to take over the top post.

Still, there are concerns that the appointment of a new CEO may see top-level resignations within the group.

This selection for Shamsul’s successor comes at a time when the state-owned oil and gas company is grappling with falling oil prices. Petronas had already announced a cut in its capital expenditure by up to 20% this year to offset the weak oil prices.

Reports also have it that industry observers are expecting Petronas to reduce its operating expenditure by between 25% and 30%, to cope with the challenging economic climate.

In 2013, Petronas paid RM63 billion to the government, comprising RM36 billion in tax income and royalties and RM27 billion in dividends, which accounted for 29.5% of government revenue.

With the low oil prices, Shamsul has forecast that payments by Petronas to the government — in the form of dividends, taxes and royalties — could dip by as much as 37% to RM43 billion in 2015 if oil prices hover at around US$75 (RM268.50) a barrel. However, prices of Brent crude have since fallen to about US$50 per barrel.

 

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on February 6, 2015.

      Print
      Text Size
      Share