Petronas facts for kids
.png){kind=logo} |
|
.jpg)
Petronas headquarters in Tower 1 of the Petronas Twin Towers (right) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
|
|
|
Trade name
|
PETRONAS |
|---|---|
| State-owned enterprise | |
| Industry | Oil and gas |
| Predecessor | Hidrokarbon Malaysia (HIKMA) |
| Founded | 17 August 1974 |
| Founders |
|
| Headquarters | Tower 1, Petronas Towers, 50088 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
|
Area served
|
Worldwide |
|
Key people
|
|
| Products |
|
| Services | |
| Revenue |  US$73.01 billion (2023) |
|
Operating income
|
US$30.08 billion (2022) |
| US$17.15 billion (2023) |
|
| Total assets | US$164.40 billion (2023) |
| Total equity | US$94.28 billion (2023) |
| Owner | Government of Malaysia |
|
Number of employees
|
47,669 (2020) |
| Subsidiaries | See subsidiaries |
PETRONAS is a big Malaysian company that deals with oil and gas. Its main office is in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The company started in 1974.
Petronas is owned by the Malaysian government. It is in charge of all oil and gas in Malaysia. Its job is to find, develop, and add value to these important resources.
Petronas is involved in every part of the oil and gas business. This includes looking for oil and gas, taking it out of the ground, making it into useful products, and selling it. They also produce electricity. Petronas works in over 100 countries. They have many gas stations in Malaysia, South Africa, and other parts of Africa.
The company also makes and sells lubricants (like engine oil) all over the world. Petronas has different companies for different jobs. For example, Petronas Carigali finds and produces oil and gas. Petronas Dagangan sells gas and other products. Petronas Chemicals makes chemicals from oil and gas. Petronas also has its own university, Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP).
Petronas is a very important company for Malaysia. It provides a lot of money to the Malaysian government. It is also one of the largest oil and gas companies in the world.
Contents
History of Petronas
How Petronas Started
Before Malaysia was formed, a company called Royal Dutch Shell started looking for oil in Miri, Sarawak, in 1909. The first oil well was drilled there in 1910. It became known as the Grand Old Lady. More oil was found in Brunei in 1929.
In 1963, when Malaysia was formed, Shell was still the only oil company working in the area. In 1968, Malaysia's first offshore oilfield started producing oil. By 1974, Malaysia was producing about 90,000 to 99,000 barrels of crude oil every day.
In the early 1970s, the price of oil went up a lot. This made the Malaysian government want to have its own oil and gas company. They also felt that foreign companies were not sharing enough information or money. So, the idea of creating a national oil company grew stronger.
The former Sarawak Chief Minister, Abdul Rahman Ya'kub, first suggested the idea in 1965. He wanted to make sure Sarawak benefited from its oil. Later, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah helped create a plan for a new company. This company would share profits fairly between the federal government and the states that produced oil.
Growing in the 20th Century
Petronas was officially started on August 17, 1974. Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah became its first chairman. At first, foreign oil companies like Exxon and Shell did not want to give up their control. But after talks, they agreed to work with Petronas.
In 1975, Petronas sent its first shipment of crude oil to Japan. They also started supplying oil to the Philippines. In 1978, Petronas Carigali was formed to explore and produce oil. Petronas also partnered with Mitsubishi and Shell to create Malaysia LNG, a company that deals with liquefied natural gas.
Petronas continued to grow. In the 1980s, they built a fertilizer plant and started setting up gas stations across Malaysia. They also began exploring for oil outside Malaysia, in countries like Vietnam and Myanmar.
In the 1990s, Petronas built more oil refineries. This meant they could process all the crude oil they produced in Malaysia. They also started new businesses, like importing and distributing liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Two of Petronas' companies, Petronas Dagangan and Petronas Gas, became public companies on the stock exchange.
Petronas also expanded into chemicals and bought a share in Engen Petroleum, an oil company in South Africa. Even during the Asian economic crisis in the late 1990s, Petronas continued to grow and develop. They moved into their new headquarters in the Petronas Twin Towers.
Petronas in the 21st Century
In the 2000s, Petronas continued to expand globally. They found oil in Chad, North Africa, and in Sabah, Malaysia. They also made deals to supply natural gas to other countries, like China. By 2003, Malaysia became the world's second-largest producer of LNG, thanks to Petronas.
Petronas kept investing in new projects and acquiring companies. In 2007, they bought an Italian company that makes lubricants. They also bought Star Energy to control oil production in the UK. By 2008, a large part of Petronas' income came from its international projects.
In 2012, Petronas bought a Canadian energy company called Progress Energy Resources. This gave them access to large amounts of shale gas in Canada. In 2013, they found new oil and gas onshore in Sarawak, which was the first onshore discovery in Malaysia in 24 years.
Even when oil prices dropped in 2015, Petronas continued its big projects, like the LNG project in Canada. In 2016, Petronas made some changes to its company structure to save costs.
In 2017, Petronas launched the world's first floating LNG facility, called PFLNG Satu. This was a big achievement. However, they also canceled a large LNG project in Canada due to market conditions.
More recently, in 2019, Petronas started moving into renewable energy by acquiring a solar energy company. In 2020, they signed a deal to supply LNG to China for many years. In 2024, Petronas announced a new project to build a biorefinery in Malaysia. This facility will make sustainable aviation fuel and other bio-products, showing Petronas' move towards cleaner energy.
How Petronas Works
Petronas is set up into four main parts:
- Upstream: This part looks for and takes out crude oil and natural gas from the ground. They also manage the equipment needed to get the oil and gas to market.
- Gas and Energy: This part turns natural gas into liquid natural gas (LNG) and explores other low-carbon energy options.
- Downstream: This part handles making, selling, and distributing oil products and chemicals. This includes oil refineries and selling products at gas stations.
- Project Delivery and Technology: This part manages big projects for Petronas. They also provide technical help and make sure safety and environmental rules are followed.
Petronas manages its business from finding oil to selling it. This helps them work efficiently. They have also become very good at handling natural gas, which brings in a lot of their profits.
Petronas Companies
Petronas has many smaller companies that work under it. Here are some of the main ones:
- Petronas Carigali: This company is in charge of finding and producing oil and gas in Malaysia. They also work with other big oil companies around the world.
- Petronas Dagangan: This company sells finished oil products and runs gas stations in Malaysia. They have over 800 gas stations and often partner with food companies and banks to offer more services.
- Petronas Gas: This company processes and transports natural gas. They own and operate a long pipeline system across Peninsular Malaysia.
- MISC Berhad: This company handles shipping. They own and operate ships and provide other services related to moving goods by sea.
- KLCC Properties: This company develops and manages properties, including the famous Petronas Twin Towers and KLCC Park in Kuala Lumpur.
- Petronas Chemicals: This company makes chemicals and petrochemicals. They are one of the largest producers in Southeast Asia, making products like plastics and fertilizers.
- Malaysian Marine and Heavy Engineering: This company builds offshore structures for oil and gas. They also repair large ships.
- Petronas Lubricants International: This company makes and sells lubricants for cars and industries all over the world. They are the official lubricant supplier for brands like Mercedes-Benz and Proton.
Sports and Petronas
Motorsports
Car Racing
Petronas has been a big supporter of car racing, especially Formula One. They used to sponsor the BMW Sauber Formula One team, providing fuel and lubricants. They also sponsored the Malaysian Grand Prix race.
Since 2010, Petronas has been the main sponsor of the Mercedes AMG PETRONAS Formula One team. This partnership has been very successful, with Mercedes winning many championships. Petronas provides fuel and lubricants for Mercedes and other teams that use Mercedes engines.
Petronas also sponsors other racing events and teams. They supported the PETRONAS TOYOTA TEAM TOM'S in the Super GT series. They also sponsored the PERT (PETRONAS EON Rally Team) for rally racing.
Motorcycle Racing
.jpeg)
Petronas has also been involved in motorcycle racing. In the past, they sponsored teams in the 250cc and 125cc classes of Grand Prix motorcycle racing. They also sponsored the Malaysian Cub Prix races.
From 2017, Petronas became the main sponsor of the Sepang Racing Team in MotoGP, Moto2, and Moto3 classes. They provided fuels and oils for the team. In 2023, Petronas became the main sponsor for the MIE Honda Racing Team in the World Superbike and World Supersport races.
Petronas and Education
Petronas helps students go to college by offering special sponsorships. These sponsorships are like loans that turn into full scholarships if the students work for Petronas after they graduate. Students are chosen based on their grades, activities, and character.
Petronas also has its own university called Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP). It was built in 1997 in Seri Iskandar, Perak.
Images for kids
-
A Petronas station seen in Pattaya, Thailand
See also
In Spanish: Petronas para niños
