KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 26): Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) said its joint venture partner Saudi Aramco remains committed to the development of the Pengerang Refining and Petrochemical Integrated Refinery and Petrochemicals Complex (PRefChem), despite rumours that the partnership was going through rough waters.

During the group’s media briefing today, Petronas president and group CEO Tengku Muhammad Taufik reassured that the commitment remains and that he has been engaging with Saudi Aramco’s management regularly.

“Petronas and Saudi Aramco remain committed to the partnership and delivering the successful and reliable startup of this signature 300,000 barrel per day facility.

“They have deployed their best resources to complement our own team. I do not want to entertain any speculation around the partnership,” he said.

Meanwhile, on the timeline for the completion of PRefChem, Muhammad Taufik indicated that the schedule has been pushed back.

Previously, the group aimed to complete the facility by March this year, after several delays in 2019 and 2020, although he said another delay is “inescapable” due to the recent surge in Covid-19 cases which resulted in a number of clusters surfacing in Johor.

Petronas executive vice president & CEO (Downstream) Datuk Md Arif Mahmood explained that the group was previously gearing up for a startup in March, but is now looking at the early part of the second half of 2021.

“Just to give you a feel [of the situation], there are still about 4,000 workers, contractors, on the site, plus our own personnel of about more than 2,000 people. 

“We need to make sure that the management of this work, and the risk of Covid-19, must be managed carefully, which has impacted the schedule,” said Md Arif.