KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 7): Malaysia's national oil company Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) is ending its operations in Mauritania in Africa's west coast, due to sharp a fall in revenue amid lower crude oil prices.

According to Morocco-based The North Africa Post, Petronas has started pulling back and is about to end its operations in Mauritania. It was reported Petronas had notified Mauritanian authorities last February that it would stop its oil exploration there.

“The company has started disassembling its offshore oil platform and facilities. Petronas is facing sharp fall in its oil exploitation revenues, due to the collapse of the oil price on the international market.

"The company has also seen its daily production shrunken sharply to nearly 6,000 bpd, compared to an initial production of 75,000 bpd," The North Africa Post reported.

It was reported Petronas had ventured into Mauritania's upstream oil and gas operations since 2007.
 
In 2007, Petronas acquired Woodside Mauritania under a deal, estimated at US$418 million (RM1.79 billion). The deal had helped Petronas clinch significant interest in eight upstream fields in Mauritania.

The report stated that Petronas had been exploiting oil off the Mauritanian coast within the Chinguetti field. The field is located in Deep Water Block 4 of PSC B, some 80 km west of the Mauritania's coastline.

"Collapse of oil prices and high exploitation costs have deterred foreign companies from investing in the Mauritanian oil sector," The North Africa Post reported.

Over the last one year, crude oil futures had fallen from an intraday high at US$85.20 a barrel to the current US$49.58, Bloomberg data shows.

Reuters reported oil futures rose in thin Asian trade on Wednesday, with U.S. oil up more than US$1, after breaking out of a month-long trading range, on a forecast suggesting a global glut in supply may be easing.

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