Petronas output cut poses minimal impact to government reserve

Second Finance Minister Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani says Petroliam Nasional Bhd's (Petronas) plan to reduce output in January 2017 would not significantly affect the government's reserve.

Speaking to reporters today, he said the impact of the reduction would be compensated by a rise in crude oil prices.

"Petronas produces almost 500,000 barrels per day and the cut is slightly below five per cent.

"We have seen an increase in crude oil prices (recently) and expect the impact from the reduction to be minimal," he told reporters at the 20th anniversary of the Rapid KL LRT Ampang Line here today.

Among those present at the event was Prasarana Malaysia Bhd President and Group Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Seri Azmi Abdul Aziz, as well as former Kuala Lumpur Mayor, Tan Sri Elyas Omar.

On Wednesday, Petronas indicated it may cut up to 20,000 barrels per day of crude output beginning next month.

Petronas said the voluntary adjustment to the country's crude oil production was a response to the pact between the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and non-Opec producers on Dec 10 to slash output.

Johari said the reduction in global output by Opec and non-Opec countries has helped global crude oil prices to stabilise.

The benchmark Brent Crude futures for February rose 0.35 per cent to US$54.65 per barrel from its previous close of US$54.46 per barrel.

Meanwhile, Azmi said the MRT Sungai Buloh-Kajang had recorded a ridership of 60,000 passengers daily since the launch on Dec 15, and is expected to continue the momentum.

On the Rapid KL LRT Ampang Line, he said it had recorded more than two billion passengers in the span of 20 years of operations. - BERNAMA