NATIONAL oil and gas company Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) will pay a dividend of RM35 billion to the government this year, its president and chief executive officer Tengku Muhammad Taufik said.

The company has the capacity to pay this amount, although the current crude oil prices were expected to be lower than those recorded last year, he added.

Taufik said any additional dividend will take into consideration Petronas’ operational requirements, growth commitments and financial obligations.

He disclosed this during a briefing with the media ahead of Petronas’ announcement of its first quarter results today.

Analysts described the RM35 billion dividend as reasonable and payable by the company despite the significant decline in crude oil prices. This was due to its steady cash flow operations.

Petronas paid dividends totalling RM50 billion in 2022, including an additional dividend of RM25 billion.

This was when the company recorded its largest net profit in history, amounting to RM101.6 billion for the year ended December 31, 2022, while group revenue hit an all-time high of RM375.3 billion. – June 7, 2023.