Page 54 - Forbes - Asia (December 2019 - January 2020)

PROMOTION
PETRONAS:
BANKING ON SUSTAINABILITY
With change sweeping the industry, Malaysia’s national energy company invests
in clean renewable technologies to drive new business growth.
Since the second industrial revolution, the
world has been dependent on the oil and
gas industry to power economic growth. In
the past decade, climate change concerns
have accelerated the push for cleaner and
sustainable energy solutions in a bid to
reduce dependence on fossil fuel.
For PETRONAS, industry disruption—on
the back of increasing energy demands,
resource depletion and the push for sustain-
able solutions—is inevitable. It’s an ongoing
challenge for all energy players, including
PETRONAS, says Dzafri Sham Ahmad, Vice
President of Group Health, Safety, Security
and Environment, PETRONAS.
“In the energy business, change is
becoming even more volatile today than
ever before. Disruptive forces and emerg-
ing megatrends are pushing oil and gas
companies to reinvent themselves and
revisit their business strategies in order to
remain relevant and sustainable.
“Climate change, air-quality concerns
and government-driven initiatives are also
fueling the rising demand for renewables.
This spurs us to be more innovative and to
invest in other sources of energy such as
renewables for the security and sustain-
ability of our supply.”
Dzafri says PETRONAS has been explor-
ing the clean energy space since 2013
PETRONAS Twin Towers, home to Malaysia’s
premier energy solutions company.
as part of the company’s
long-term growth strat-
egy. Today, this means the
company is adopting com-
mercial renewable energy
technologies that use solar
and wind for power.
The challenge in transi-
tioning toward a low car-
bon future is ensuring a
sufficient and affordable
supply of energy to cater
to fast-growing energy
demands due to popu- Dzafri Sham Ahmad, Vice President of Group Health,
lation growth and rapid Safety, Security and Environment, PETRONAS
urbanization. Energy com-
panies such as PETRONAS find themselves
walking a fine line when it comes to energy
security, affordability and sustainability.
While fossil fuels remain core to the
global energy mix, PETRONAS is redefin-
ing its energy offerings by pushing for the
increased use of natural gas, which it sees as
complementary to renewables. Its efforts to
ensure a sustainable supply of natural gas is
evident in its Canadian venture; PETRONAS
and four global joint venture participants
reached a final investment decision last year
to build a LNG export facility in Kitimat in
British Columbia, Canada.
The multibillion-dollar LNG Canada
project, which will initially com-
prise two LNG liquefaction pro-
cessing units, aims to produce a
total of 14 million tons per annum,
with the potential to expand to
four units.
PETRONAS is among the top
five LNG sellers in the world with
positions in Australia, Egypt and
Sarawak. The company is also
a significant supplier to Japan,
Korea, Taiwan and China, and it
recently expanded its customer
positions in Thailand and India. Making Sustainability a
Investing in Canada provides the Key Strategy
company a long, sustainable busi-
ness for the future.
As for renewable energy, the
company is currently focusing on
solar and wind power and has established
a new division called Gas & New Energy,
which is aimed at growing a substantial
business in delivering clean energy solu-
tions to customers.
In line with its strategies in new energy,
PETRONAS in April acquired Amplus
Energy Solutions Pte Ltd (Amplus Solar),
which is headquartered in India, to expand
its renewables portfolio to include rooftop
solar, ground-mounted solar and other dis-
tributed energy solutions such as storage.
In Malaysia, PETRONAS is collaborating
with Universiti Teknologi MARA to jointly
develop the On-Campus Energy Optimi-
zation and Solar Rooftop projects. The
company plans to be a significant contrib-
utor to the Malaysian government’s renew-
able energy target of 6 GW by 2025.
“We are exploring new ideas and tech-
nologies that go beyond oil and gas as we
witness the emergence of new disruptive
business models, products and ideas.
For PETRONAS, we view technology as a
differentiator—the key to unlocking new
opportunities and driving growth for our
business,” says Dzafri.
PETRONAS has been on its sustainability
journey for nearly two decades now, says
Dzafri, “but looking at future trends and
rising expectations, we realize that we