Friday 29 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (July 29): Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) contended that a purported Ocean Wind International Industrial Ltd statement which alleged the latter is close to signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Petronas is false, and that Malaysian national oil company Petronas has not had any discussion with Hong Kong-based Ocean Wind International to date.

"We refer to recent news reports claiming that Hong Kong-based Ocean Wind International is close to signing an MOU with Petronas, following extensive talks over the last three months.

“Petronas wishes to state that the news reports are false and that it has not had any discussion with the Hong Kong-based party to date,” Petronas claimed in an emailed statement to theedgemarkets.com 

theedgemarkets.com had earlier forwarded Petronas the purported Ocean Wind International statement dated July 19, 2021, to seek Petronas’ confirmation on whether the the claim about the MOU is true.

The statement, which appeared to have been sourced from Newswire’s website, was carried on Digital Journal’s website. The statement however could not be found on Ocean Wind International's website.

The statement claimed Ocean Wind International had said it is confident that it will soon agree on the terms of the MOU with Petronas, with a view of securing what Ocean Wind International refers to as a “substantial investment” from Petronas to further improve the efficacy of Petronas' floating wind turbine mooring infrastructure.

According to the statement, the development follows more than three months of exploratory talks between senior executives from Ocean Wind International and Petronas, and it is hoped that the MOU will establish a foundation that will help Petronas accelerate its own carbon neutrality and renewable energy production transition ambitions.

"The Hong Kong-based company says it hopes to have full details of the MoU by the end of August and will make a formal announcement at that time.

"Ocean Wind International is understood to be keen on improving its Poseidon turbine and platform product’s stability in waters over 1 km in depth, compared with the current 800 meters in order to make Poseidon more suitable to deployments further out to sea,” the statement claimed.

The statement claimed that Jeremy Fitzroy, who is Ocean Wind International’s chairman and CEO, said the MoU with Petronas is probably the most significant development for Ocean Wind International and that the MoU represents an exciting time for the development of Poseidon.

"Petronas’ expertise in mooring, ballast and, of course, the financial investment to help us facilitate the integration of their technology, will hopefully come to be looked upon as a defining moment for Ocean Wind International,” Fitzroy was quoted as saying.

At the time of writing today, Fitzroy has not responded to theedgemarket.com’s emailed request for clarification on Petronas’ claim that the purported Ocean Wind International statement which alleged that Ocean Wind International is close to signing the MoU with Petronas is false and that Petronas has not had any discussion with Ocean Wind International to date.

Meanwhile, theedgemarket.com is still waiting for Petronas’ response to a follow-up query on what legal measures Petronas will take against Ocean Wind International following Ocean Wind International’s two purported statements which mention Petronas.

The latest statement was dated July 19, 2021 while the earlier document was dated May 6, 2021.

The purported May 6, 2021 statement by Ocean Wind International claimed that a confirmed second round of exploratory talks with senior executives of Petronas would be held in June 2021 after a "positive and fruitful” meeting in April 2021 during which both parties discussed Petronas' future renewable energy production transition plans.

Ocean Wind International is thought to be keen on leveraging Petronas' experience with offshore fossil fuel production, citing Petronas' deepwater floating platform expertise as being highly compatible with that of Ocean Wind International’s floating wind power turbines, the statement claimed.

"The company's Poseidon turbine and platform pairing are capable of withstanding the inhospitable ocean environment in waters up to 800 metres deep, but the firm believes that Petronas' experience could help to increase that to over 1km,” the statement claimed.

Following news reports quoting the the purported May 6, 2021 statement by Ocean Wind International, Petronas issued a May 10, 2021 statement alleging that news reports that have emerged claiming that Petronas has been in “exploratory talks” with Ocean Wind International for Petronas’ future renewable energy production transition plans, "are false and that it has not had any discussion, exploratory or otherwise, with the Hong Kong-based party.”

“Petronas remains committed to pursuing its renewable and new energy strategies, which it has developed as part of its board and shareholder-sanctioned sustainability agenda,” Petronas said then.

 

Edited ByChong Jin Hun
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