A new leader has been appointed to guide Malaysia’s national oil company through a period of low oil prices created by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The change at Petroliam Nasional, known commonly as Petronas, was made by the prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin who is conducting a shake up at the top levels of several state-owned companies and government institutions since assuming his role in March.
Effective 1 July, current chief executive officer of Petronas Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin will step down and transition to his new position as the chairman of the state-owned Malaysia Airways. On the date, Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz will move from his current role as chief financial officer of Petronas and become its newest chief executive.
Wan Zulkiflee has led Petronas for the past 5 years and local media has reported he signed a 3-year extension to his contract in 2018. He joined the company in 1983 as a process engineer and would rise to the company’s top position in 2015, which was marked by the industry’s past downturn in global crude prices.
At that time, he oversaw budget reductions totaling $12 billion and the company’s first large-scale layoffs of thousands of workers. Among the marquee initiatives completed during his tenure was a $27-billion joint venture with Saudi Aramco to expand and run an oil refinery in Malaysia that is expected to process up to 300,000 B/D upon completion.