KUCHING (June 13): Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) president and group chief executive officer (CEO) Tan Sri Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz said his contract, which will expire at the end of this month, has been extended.

Without delving into the details of his contract, he said Petronas’ shareholders and board members would be the parties to answer the matter.

“I have been extended, and I think that’s as far as I am probably at liberty to say. Other than that, you have to get comments from my shareholders and boards,” he told Bernama after attending the 5th edition of the International Energy Week (IEW) here on Tuesday (June 13).

In June 2020, then-prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced the appointment of Tengku Muhammad Taufik as the national oil company’s president and group CEO.

Effective July 1, 2020, Tengku Muhammad Taufik replaced his predecessor Tan Sri Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin, who had been appointed as the new Malaysian Airlines Bhd chairman.

Meanwhile, commenting on this year’s IEW theme of "Transitioning Towards A Net Zero Carbon Future", Tengku Muhammad Taufik said that while net zero transitions are the way forward, there should not only be just a single approach, especially in Asia where countries have different economic levels and progress.

“Make no mistake, everyone acknowledges climate change is real, there is a need to address global warming, and we also acknowledge to stick within the Paris Agreement’s limits.

“But imposing only one way as the right way is not applicable, particularly in the context of Asia where we still need to grow, where there is a right to prosper. We have countries with different levels of wealth and economic advancement. You cannot impose that sort of one method, one pathway approach to every country within Asia,” he said.

Tengku Muhammad Taufik said Sarawak had taken a very forward-looking stance in preparing for a decarbonised energy ecosystem.

“It is a challenge because the technology will still have to mature, but their (Sarawak) first steps in taking a position (is commendable) whether (for example) in partnering with us (Petronas) to work on algae-based biofuel for more sustainable aviation fuel and many other initiatives.

“Together with the greening of energy and electricity systems with more hydropower, I think the steps taken by Sarawak is indeed preparing its economy to be less carbonised,” he added.