Petronas to exit Vietnam blocks

Malaysia’s Petronas will return offshore blocks 01 and 02 to Vietnam once its PSC expires in September, the company said on Thursday.

PC Vietnam, the company’s local subsidiary and first successful international endeavour, will cease operations after 26 years, the press release added, though the NOC’s international E&P arm Petronas Carigali will continue to operate blocks 102 and 106 in northern Vietnam.

“We have come a long way since our entry into Vietnam in 1991, which was an important first step at the beginning of our globalisation journey,” said president and CEO Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin. “As a pioneer investor in the oil and gas industry of Vietnam, we are proud to have been given the opportunity by the host government to play a significant role in the development of the country’s oil and gas and petrochemical industries.”

The news comes a day after Petronas announced that it was scrapping the massive Pacific NorthWest LNG project in Canada due to low natural gas prices.