Malaysian energy giant Petronas reported a rise in its liquefied natural gas (LNG) sales, boosted by higher demand and the launch of its second FLNG producer.
Total LNG sales during January-June rose 2 percent to 17.03 million tonnes as compared to 16.70 million tonnes in the same period last year.
Petronas said gross LNG sales volume rose by 1.39 million tonnes following higher demand and commissioning of its 1.5 mtpa PFLNG Dua in March this year.
LNG sales also increased in the second quarter. Petronas sold 8.10 million tonnes in the second quarter, up from 6.71 million tonnes in the same period last year.
In addition, Petronas said its overall revenue rose 17 percent to 109.6 billion ringgit ($26.1 billion) in the January-June period. Post-tax profit reached 18.9 billion ringgit, against a loss of 16.5 billion ringgit in the same quarter last year.
Petronas attributed the rise to favorable average realized prices for major products and higher sales volume impact mainly for LNG and gas.
LNG bunkering on the rise
A unit of Petronas started using the Avenir LNG-owned vessel Avenir Advantage in November last year by completing Malaysia’s first STS bunkering operation.
Future Horizon, a joint venture between Petronas’ unit MISC and Avenir, chartered the vessel to Petronas LNG for a period of three years.
Earlier this year, Petronas has also completed its first bunkering operation in Port Klang as it continues to expand its LNG fueling business.
Petronas said in its results report it had completed in total nine LNG bunkering deliveries in the Strait of Malacca.
Avenir Advantage has bunkered several different ships including Siem’s car carrier, Altera’s shuttle tanker, Posco’s bulk carrier, and Furetank’s tanker Fure Vinga.
In addition to the bunkering business, Petronas said it continues to expand the supply of LNG via trucks to off-grid and marine industry customers. In total, the energy giant has completed 180 virtual pipeline system (VPS) deliveries in Malaysia, it said.
