Shell to pump in RM10 billion

THE Royal Dutch Shell Group is looking to invest some RM10 billion in its oil and gas operations in Malaysia in the next five years.Shell Malaysia chairman Datuk Saw Choo Boon said while the investment is spread across the range of business activities, exploration and production will take up most of the expenditure."We have been in the country since 1891, more than 100 years. We intend to stay and continue to grow our business here," he said at a media dialogue in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Also present was Royal Dutch Shell chief executive officer Jeroen van der Veer.Worldwide, van der Veer said, the company has set aside some US$27 billion (RM87 billion) as capital investment for this year, about the same amount allocated last year.
"We probably have the highest investment among oil companies in the world. I think there are enough opportunities for us, including in the downstream, to come up with more investments," he said.He said the company will probably be shifting its focus to the East rather than the West, with growth likely to come from Malaysia, China, Indonesia, India and Ukraine."We are also building a new chemical cracker plant in Singapore and are active in the downstream segment in Thailand," he said.In Malaysia, he said, the development of the Gemusut-Kakap deepwater field is one of the key projects undertaken by Shell, of which production is expected to begin in 2010.On the outlook of the global oil and gas industry, van de Veer said fossil fuel - namely oil, gas and coal, will continue to play an important role by 2050 to meet the ever increasing demand for those fuels."Within 25 years from now, the world will still use more oil, gas and coal," he said.On the current escalating price of crude oil, van der Veer said he did not see any shortage of oil supplies that would cause the price to increase substantially."There are no physical shortages in the world. We don't have ships waiting in the Middle East, no people queuing up for gasoline. From a stocks point of view, the whole value chain works well," he said, declining to project how high the price of crude will go. -www.btimes.com.my