Malaysia’s state-owned oil and gas company Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) said its purchase of shares in Russia’s Rosneft in the Russian state oil firm’s initial public offering (IPO) in July was part of its strategy to become a global player. “We aspire to be a global player in the oil and gas sector, and knowledge_base is a logical thing to do,” Petronas Chief Executive Hassan Marican said. Rosneft Chief Executive Officer Sergei Bogdanchikov said his firm will spend US$3 billion on refining and US$15 billion on production by 2010 and will expand ties with new partners and buyers of its IPO — Petronas, BP Plc and China National Petroleum Company (CNPC). (July 26, 2006)
