KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 23): PETRONAS Gas Bhd (KL:PETGAS) said on Monday it is paying up to US$173.64 million (RM705.67 million) cash upfront for 18 years of jetty fees at its Pengerang liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in a one-off deal to reduce its exposure to currency fluctuations.

The ringgit rose to a five-year high against the US dollar at 4.0645 on Tuesday.

In a filing with the bourse, PETRONAS Gas said its subsidiary Pengerang LNG (Two) Sdn Bhd (PLNG2) signed a one-off agreement with Pengerang Terminals (Two) Sdn Bhd (PT2SB) to prepay annual fixed charges under the 2017 Jetty Usage Agreement (JUA) for jetty services at the Pengerang LNG terminal.

PT2SB is a joint venture between PETRONAS’ wholly owned unit PRPC Utilities and Facilities Sdn Bhd, Dialog Equity (Two) Sdn Bhd, Vopak Terminal Pengerang BV, and Permodalan Darul Ta’zim Sdn Bhd.

Under the agreement, PLNG2 will settle the agreed portion of annual fixed charges for the remaining service period of the agreement — from Jan 1, 2026, to March 2, 2044, or another date as mutually agreed — amounting up to US$173.64 million. This represents the residual contract value of PLNG2’s remaining obligations under the JUA.

PETRONAS Gas said the jetty facilities will continue to be used by PLNG2 until the end of the contracted period, and the operational portion of the JUA will remain unaffected.

Shares in PETRONAS Gas closed 10 sen lower at RM18 on Tuesday, giving the company a market capitalisation of RM35.6 billion.