Downstream sector prolongs oil reserves' life
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
ADDING value to petroleum resources helps prolong the life of oil reserves, the chief executive of Malaysia's Petronas said yesterday.
During a forum on "Strategies for Adding Value to Petroleum Resources", Tan Sri Hassan Marican, president and CEO of Petronas, discussed various ways by which the oil firm optimised oil reserves in the neighbouring country.
Among lessons to be learned from the successful oil company especially in view of the lingering concerns about the depletion of oil reserves in the sultanate include making a move away from being a mere exporter of crude oil to looking at the manufacturing of petroleum resources.
Tan Sri Hassan said Petronas took this bold step and profited immensely from the diversification of its operations.
The president of Malaysia's national oil company affirmed the positive impact "downstreaming" would have on local businesses when asked about the move's indirect effects on local small and medium enterprises, and small and medium industries.
"We would normally produce for domestic market but we've also been able to break into the export market," he said.
When asked about the global movement of environmentally accepted practices including in the oil sector, Tan Sri Hassan said the industry and consumers should rather look into things that could be done easily.
"There's a lot of talk about biodiesel and biofuels at the moment. It's the flavour of the month because of high oil prices but the little things we do can make a difference. There's no need to get hyped up because there's little things we can do like switching off your computers before tackling the big-ticket issues," he said.
The event, hosted by the Brunei Economic Development Board, was geared towards presenting solutions to suit Brunei's unique economic needs in the oil and gas industry.
Cabinet ministers, deputy ministers and permanent secretaries as well as leading members of the business community attended the forum yesterday at the Jerudong Park Country Club.
The Brunei Times
During a forum on "Strategies for Adding Value to Petroleum Resources", Tan Sri Hassan Marican, president and CEO of Petronas, discussed various ways by which the oil firm optimised oil reserves in the neighbouring country.
Among lessons to be learned from the successful oil company especially in view of the lingering concerns about the depletion of oil reserves in the sultanate include making a move away from being a mere exporter of crude oil to looking at the manufacturing of petroleum resources.
Tan Sri Hassan said Petronas took this bold step and profited immensely from the diversification of its operations.
The president of Malaysia's national oil company affirmed the positive impact "downstreaming" would have on local businesses when asked about the move's indirect effects on local small and medium enterprises, and small and medium industries.
"We would normally produce for domestic market but we've also been able to break into the export market," he said.
When asked about the global movement of environmentally accepted practices including in the oil sector, Tan Sri Hassan said the industry and consumers should rather look into things that could be done easily.
"There's a lot of talk about biodiesel and biofuels at the moment. It's the flavour of the month because of high oil prices but the little things we do can make a difference. There's no need to get hyped up because there's little things we can do like switching off your computers before tackling the big-ticket issues," he said.
The event, hosted by the Brunei Economic Development Board, was geared towards presenting solutions to suit Brunei's unique economic needs in the oil and gas industry.
Cabinet ministers, deputy ministers and permanent secretaries as well as leading members of the business community attended the forum yesterday at the Jerudong Park Country Club.
The Brunei Times
Business Besides Oil
