KUALA LUMPUR: ConocoPhillips, the third-largest US oil company by market value, is talking to national energy giant Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) to expand its position in the upstream sector in Malaysia, a senior executive said yesterday.

“We are certainly looking for opportunities in Malaysia. We are talking to Petronas,” said Ryan M Lance, ConocoPhillips’ senior vice president (international) for exploration and production.

“We would love to expand our position in Malaysia,” he told Reuters on the sidelines of an oil and gas conference here.

Asked what areas ConocoPhillips is targeting, he said: “Exploration oil and gas. We are always looking for good opportunities.”

ConocoPhillips has interests in three deepwater blocks off the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah: Block G, Block J and Kebabangan Cluster, it said on its website. It also has a stake in a refinery in Melaka with joint-venture partner Petronas.

When asked if oil companies would shift their exploration work to Asia following the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Lance said: “It is tough to speculate right now. We just have to wait and see what went wrong and understand what the implications are.

“The Gulf of Mexico will remain an important supply point for the US and the world.”

ConocoPhillips does not have extensive offshore exploration and production operations on the US Gulf Coast. — Reuters

This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, June 9, 2010.