Talks that led to the deal with the world’s biggest oil exporter, known as Saudi Aramco, started in at least 2014, Sazali said.“It’s really a tough time to find investors, especially in oil and gas because of the uncertainties of the oil situation,” Sazali said Monday in Kuala Lumpur. “If everyone’s agendas can be aligned, then it will happen.”As RAPID’s development accelerates, Petronas Chemicals plans to increase capital spending by as much as one-quarter this year and next from last year’s roughly 4 billion ringgit ($900 million), Sazali said. RAPID will remain its focus over the next few years and the company will only actively seek overseas acquisitions next decade, Sazali said. The company is targeting a utilization rate of as high as 90 percent for its plants this year, he said. Pre-tax profits last year would have been about 20 percent lower if it hadn’t pushed rates to a record 96 percent, according to Sazali.

Source: The Star March 14, 2017 04:07 UTC