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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUALA LUMPUR 000037 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/19/2020 
TAGS: ECON EFIN ENIV ETRD ETTC IR KNNP MY
SUBJECT: MALAYSIA: ISA UPDATE - PETRONAS MOVING AWAY FROM IRAN INVESTMENT 
 
REF: 09 STATE 121808 
 
Classified By: Econ Counselor Matt Matthews for reasons 1.4(b) and (d) 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary: Post approached the three Malaysian 
companies listed in Ref A that are reportedly doing business 
or contemplating doing business in Iran.  Petronas told us 
January 11 that it has no active investments in Iran, no 
commitment has been made to invest in South Pars Phase 11 and 
its contractual obligations in the Munir block are complete, 
with no further investment under consideration.  Petronas 
officials noted that Petronas is concerned about investing in 
Iran due to current political uncertainties there.  Amona 
told us via telephone they sold their oil and gas (O&G) 
business, including any interest in the redevelopment of the 
Resalat Oilfield.  Post has made contact with representatives 
from SKS Ventures, which will be reported septel.  Ministry 
of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Principal Assistant Secretary and 
America Desk Officer Muhammad Radzi Jamaludin (Radzi) told 
post that the Ministry of International Trade and Investment 
(MITI) held a meeting with Petronas, Amona, and SKS Ventures 
and told them to cooperate with embassy inquiries on Iran 
investments.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (C) Comment: Our meeting with Petronas was at a 
surprisingly high level and the information offered was 
unusually frank and forthcoming for such a sensitive topic. 
As a Petronas Board member, Azhar is well positioned to 
provide accurate information on Petronas' Iran investment 
plans.  Post will continue to press for additional details on 
Petronas South Pars Phase 11 activity.  End Comment. 
 
Petronas 
-------- 
 
¶3.  (C) Deputy Econcouns Salin and econoff Williams met 
January 11 with Petronas Board of Directors Member and 
Corporate Secretary Mohd Azhar Osman Khairuddin (Azhar) and 
his assistant, Head of Legal Research, Planning and Issues 
Management, Abdul Rahim Mydin (Rahim) to query Petronas about 
existing and planned investments in Iran,s oil and gas 
sector (O&G) and awareness of the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA). 
Deputy Econcouns delivered ref A points and provided 
additional background on our information request. 
 
¶4.  (C) Azhar said that Petronas does not have any 
investments in Iran at this time.  Azhar explained that 
Petronas aspires to be a global company and desires a 
positive relationship with the USG.  However, he related that 
Petronas was a relatively late entrant to the O&G business 
and was not competitive with international oil companies 
(IOCs) in most development areas.  Petronas made the 
conscious decision in the mid 1990,s, with the blessing of 
the GOM, to compete in countries where Western sanctions 
precluded the largest IOCs from competing such as Iran, 
Sudan, Myanmar, and Mauritania, according to Azhar.  He 
claimed that in 1996 the Petronas president met with Clinton 
Administration officials informing the USG of Petronas, 
plans to invest in Iran and that Secretary Albright gave 
Total, Gazprom, and Petronas ISA exemptions on South Pars 
Phases 2 and 3.  Azhar said that Petronas developed the Siri 
field without an exemption and that both of Petronas, prior 
Iran projects are now finished.  He mentioned that Petronas 
does have an ongoing trading relationship with Iran, 
exporting lubricants to Iran. 
 
¶5.  (C) Azhar told us that Malaysian O&G reserves are not 
large and are running out soon.  (Note: Conoco Philips 
Malaysia confirmed that without new discoveries, Malaysian 
oil production will decline at approximately 10% per year, 
from 550,000 bpd in 2008 to roughly 490,000 bpd in 2009 and 
450,000 bpd in 2010.)  Azhar noted that revenues from 
Petronas accounted for 45% of the GOM budget last year and 
stated that the GOM is over-reliant on Petronas to fund its 
operations.  He said Petronas feels tremendous pressure to 
grow its business in order to maintain Malaysia,s political 
status quo and added that Petronas wants to stay insulated 
from politics, but must comply with GOM policy.  He 
acknowledged the large amount of liquid assets on Petronas, 
balance sheet and Petronas, concerns that those funds be 
invested in productive O&G assets to promote future 
profitability rather than be spent now on domestic programs 
for political gain.  He described Petronas as a stabilizing 
force in Malaysia and in ASEAN regionally and his desire that 
the USG recognize the important role Petronas plays in 
maintaining political stability in the region. 
 
 
¶6.  (C) Azhar was not aware of press accounts of Petronas 
investment plans in the South Pars Phase 11 gas field and was 
noticeably irritated that Petronas gas subsidiary Carigali 
had not mentioned Phase 11 when it briefed Azhar on its Iran 
activities.  He was quite clear, from his position as a 
member of the Petronas Board of Directors, that no final 
investment decision had been made on any new project in Iran. 
 Azhar added that Petronas is closely following the political 
situation in Iran between President Ahmadinejad and the 
opposition and stated that Petronas is very concerned about 
investing in Iran at this point due to political 
uncertainties and the possibility of "disruptive changes." 
 
¶7.  (C) (Note: In a follow-up telephone call January 14, 
Rahim told econoff that investment in South Pars Phase 11 is 
still under consideration, but that Petronas has not 
committed to the investment.  Econoff asked follow-up 
questions on the status, timing, and cost of due diligence, 
contract status with Iran/CNPC, and when a final decision 
could be reached.  Rahim asked econoff to forward the 
follow-up questions via email and that he would try to 
respond. End Note.) 
 
¶8.  (C) Azhar was excited about Petronas successful bid with 
Shell to develop the Majnoon oilfield in Iraq.  He praised 
the open and transparent competitive bidding process and said 
that Iraq,s opening is putting a lot of pressure on Iran. 
Petronas is bullish on the political situation in Iraq and 
plans to compete for additional business in Iraq, according 
to Azhar. 
 
Amona Claims O&G Business Sold 
------------------------------ 
 
¶9.  (C) Econoff and LES Tang Loon Lian contacted Amona 
December 9 via telephone regarding its announced investment 
in the Resalat Oilfield.  An Amona representative told us 
Amona had sold its entire oil and gas business to Oil Corp., 
a publicly traded Malaysian company.  Local news databases 
did not report announcement of a sale.  A search of Bursa 
Malaysia publicly listed companies showed that Oil Corp. is 
losing significant amounts of money and appears near 
bankruptcy.  Post will continue to check for additional 
details on the status of Malaysian participation in the 
Resalat transaction. 
 
MFA and Trade Ministry Authorize Cooperation 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶10.  (C) During a January 12 meeting, Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs Principal Assistant Secretary and America Desk 
Officer Muhammad Radzi Jamaludin (Radzi) told econoff that he 
had recently attended a MITI-led meeting, in which MITI 
called in Petronas, SKS Ventures and Amona and told them to 
cooperate with the embassy in our ISA inquiry.  Radzi said 
that Petronas told MITI it does not have any investment in 
Iran now and that the private companies (SKS and Amona) 
claimed they had no financing sources for their projects in 
Iran.  Radzi also described how Malaysian firms go to Iran 
with suitcases of money to purchase oil and gas concessions 
from the Iranians.  He said that they bring too much cash to 
count the money, so they weigh it to determine if the amount 
is correct.  Radzi did not offer why Malaysian firms would 
purchase an O&G concession from the Iranians for a project 
they are unable to finance. 
KEITH