KUALA LUMPUR: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) has refuted reports that it had shut down some of its offshore oil rigs in Malaysia.
"Petronas would like to clarify that the company has not shut down any of its rigs, offshore Malaysia, other than those concluding their drilling campaigns or are under temporary suspensions due to the current Covid-19 pandemic.
"As at the date of this release (on Saturday), 18 rigs are in operation within Malaysia waters," Petronas said in a statement.
Petronas was responding to a New Straits Times report quoting an industry publication that it had reduced the number of its fully active rigs from 18 to four since oil prices began dropping late last year.
Petronas had shut down or warm-stacked 14 projects until oil prices recover to break-even levels, the industry publication reported.
The national oil company clarified that there is a temporary suspension of projects at some worksites due to the Movement Control Order (MCO) implemented by the government.
"Currently, most of these projects have either resumed their work activities or will be resuming soon upon securing the necessary approval from the government," it added.
Petronas also said it was minimising the impact to its planned domestic capital expenditure in the face of current challenges.
"However, we do expect that some projects will be naturally delayed due to the prolonged lockdowns implemented globally and the MCO in Malaysia, and further disruptions anticipated to the global supply chain," it added.