Petronas taps changing demand trends to grow downstream business

Malaysian state-owned oil firm has identified bright spots in areas with high demand such as energy transition, petrochemicals and nitrile gloves

Uma Devi

Published Mon, Jan 18, 2021 · 05:50 AM

Petronas

Singapore

MALAYSIAN state-owned oil firm Petroliam Nasional's (Petronas) downstream segment was hit badly by the Covid-19 pandemic, which hurt energy demand and triggered an oil crash, but is now looking to capitalise on changing demand trends and new markets.

"We are expecting gradual recovery for the domestic market, but it may take time before we see our previous numbers, depending on the trajectory of the overall crisis and vaccine availability," Arif Mahmood, chief executive of Petronas' downstream segment told The Business Times.

He ad…