Rosberg: It's a great feeling to return to podium

 

By Adam Leveridge.

Having secured third place in Sunday's Malaysian grand prix, Nico Rosberg said it is a great feeling to be back on the podium again, after a 22-races without success.


In the home race for Mercedes' title sponsor, oil firm Petronas, Rosberg drove cleanly and consistently to finish behind the Red Bull pairing, who secured their first one-two of the 2010 season.

Swift work from the Mercedes pit-crew got the young German out ahead of Robert Kubica in the Renault, who pulled off another surprising performance to finish fourth.

After the race, Rosberg indicated that third place was Mercedes' limit in Malaysia, as he said it was just a case of managing his pace throughout the grand prix, knowing the Red Bulls had a quicker package.

"Its a fantastic result today to achieve our teams first podium," said Rosberg.

"It's a great feeling to be back up on the podium again and to have so much support from the Malaysian fans here.

"My start didn't go that well today as I had a bit too much wheelspin and once I was in third place, I knew it would be difficult to follow the leading cars.

"I struggled a little with the options in the first stint which allowed Robert [Kubica] to stay quite close but once we switched to the primes, I felt really comfortable and we could manage the race home to third place.

"This is a great end to a strong weekend for us.
"We're not quite where we want to be yet so we need to push on but I'm confident that well get there soon."

The result means Rosberg finished ahead of his vastly more experienced team-mate Michael Schumacher, who retired from the Malaysian grand prix when he suffered a problem with his left-rear wheel.

Mercedes GP team principal Ross Brawn praised Rosberg's effort in Malaysia, but was disappointed Schumacher missed out on a points again, this time, because of an unprecedented and unpreventable fault.

"That was an excellent drive from Nico today and a first-class performance to secure his third career podium and the first podium for the Mercedes GP team," said Brawn.

"We are delighted to have achieved the first podium for the Silver Arrows here in Malaysia and to be able to share the rewards of our hard work with our title partner Petronas at their home grand prix.

"My compliments to Nico for an assured performance today and over the weekend.

"Michael was in a good position after the start and we were looking forward to having a good race on his side but unfortunately it wasn't to be.

"The car lost a wheel nut which is a problem that we haven't experienced before.

"The wheel nuts are double-checked on the grid so we will investigate and put in place the necessary solutions."

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Petronas Lubricants to boost market share

More products and marketing campaigns in the pipeline

KUALA LUMPUR: Petronas Lubricants International Sdn Bhd aims to be the lubricant market leader in Malaysia in five to 10 years by introducing more high standard lubricant products and having aggressive marketing campaigns, said Petronas Dagangan Bhd lube business division general manager Mohd Shobri A. Bakar.

“Currently, we control about 21% to 22% of the local lubricants market. There are about 30 players in the market and we have to compete with all of them, which will take some time,” he told reporters yesterday after the launch of Petronas Syntium Moto, a synthetic motorcycle engine oil marketed by Petronas Dagangan.

Shobri said there were still growth opportunities in this industry such as in the motorcycle sector and the introduction of the new product would further boost the company’s market share. He was confident Petronas Syntium Moto would be well received by motorcycle enthusiasts locally and internationally.

“With growing demand for the synthetic range and being distinctive from any other lubricant brands, Petronas Lubricants will be well-poised to play a bigger role as a leading producer, manufacturer and distributor of engine oils, both in Malaysia and overseas,” he said.

Petronas Syntium Moto would be marketed to several countries including Indonesia, Thailand, China, Japan, Singapore and India soon.

Petronas Lubricants International marketing strategy and business development general manager Domenico Ciaglia said Petronas Syntium Moto was the result of two years’ hard work in research and development (R&D) and Malaysia was the first country to introduce the new product.

“Our continuous long-term lubricant development programme that produced Petronas Syntium Moto further proves our R&D ingenuity in developing world-class lubricant products,” he said.

Petronas Syntium Moto is currently available at all Petronas service stations and Kedai Mesra outlets nationwide at prices ranging from RM23 to RM88.

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Assembly Approves Motion To Take Oil Royalty Issue To Court

Assembly Approves Motion To Take Oil Royalty Issue To Court

KOTA BAHARU, March 1 (Bernama) -- The state legislative assembly Monday approved the motion to take the oil royalty issue to the court.

The motion, proposed by Abdullah Ya'akub (PAS-Air Lanas) and seconded by backbenchers and several opposition members, was unanimously approved after being debated by five members including Opposition Leader Datuk Mohd Alwi Che Ahmad (BN-Kok Lanas).

State economic development, finance and welfare committee chairman Datuk Husam Musa said the state government would file an injunction against Petronas to stop its operations in Kelantan waters "even if only for two days."

"We know that the two-day (halt in operations) would give a huge impact to the country's economy but this is something that we have to do to claim what is ours," he said.

Meanwhile, the state government called on Petronas to carry out arbitration as a means to resolve the issue apart from going to court.

Husam said the process would give Petronas the opportunity to listen to the basis for the claim and for the national oil corporation to reply to the claim.

"The arbitration should only involve the state government and Petronas, to be presided by an independent chairman, without the presence of representatives from the federal government, Umno or other political parties," he said when winding up the debate on the motion today.

Husam said the state government would not want the federal government or Umno to get involve in the process.

He added that the arbitration process and the court process could be carried out simultaneously.

Kelantan had been demanding the oil royalty and not compassionate payment as proposed by the government.

Kelantan would get RM20 million in compassionate payment for two oil wells found 150 nautical miles from its coast.

-- BERNAMA

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MICHAEL CONCLUDES TESTNG ACTION IN JEREZ

MICHAEL CONCLUDES TESTNG ACTION IN JEREZ
Source : http://www.mercedes-gp.com 

The final day of this week’s test in Jerez saw Michael Schumacher back at the wheel of the MGP W01.

The day started slowly with early morning rain leaving the track still very wet for the start of the session. Michael completed a few exploratory laps before returning to the garage to wait for a dry line to emerge.

Michael went back out once the track had dried sufficiently to run on slick tyres and made full use of the remaining track time to further develop the set-up of the car. Michael completed 84 laps over the course of the day setting a quickest time of 1:20.613.

The next test for MERCEDES GP PETRONAS will start in Jerez on Wednesday 17 February.

Michael Schumacher: “We had a good day today to end this week’s test programme. The weather affected us a little in the early part of the day but we were able to use our time very effectively once we could run on dry tyres. We completed everything that we wanted and were able to increase our understanding of the car a step further so overall it’s been positive. It’s very tough to understand the order of the teams just yet as everyone can play so much with the fuel loads. So there is a lot of speculation going on but it’s very interesting!”

Ross Brawn: “It’s been a difficult week weather-wise for all of the teams out in Jerez however we have achieved a significant amount of mileage in both the wet and dry conditions and completed some important test items on our pre-season testing programme. This week has enabled us to increase our understanding of both the car and the tyres and our focus for the final two tests will be to continue to develop the performance of the MGP W01 and ensure the team and our drivers are fully prepared for the first race.”

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Concerns for Malaysia’s Petronas after Marican

Concerns for Malaysia’s Petronas after Marican

By Carola Hoyos in London and Kevin Brown in Singapore
Source : http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b5f8625c-15a1-11df-ad7e-00144feab49a.html?nclick_check=1

Malaysia on Tuesday ended the 15-year tenure of the executive who transformed its state-owned energy company from a natural gas exporter into one of the very few sophisticated state-owned oil and gas companies with a broad international presence.


Uncertain circumstances surrounding the replacement of Hassan Marican as chief executive of Petronas have intensified concern that one of the world’s only successful state-owned energy groups – or national oil companies (NOCs) – will suffer at the hands of its own government.

Mr Marican, who was fiercely protective of Petronas’s autonomy, had opposed the board appointment of an important ally of Najib Razak, Malaysia’s prime minister. Mr Marican’s internationalisation of Petronas has resulted in the company sourcing more than a third of its oil and gas from outside Malaysia, whose own production is falling.

Christophe de Margerie, chief executive of Total, which has several partnerships with Petronas, called Mr Marican “an excellent leader,” while Alexander Medvedev, deputy chief executive of Russia’s Gazprom, said he was sad to see such a “high-level executive” leave.

In the dysfunctional world of state-owned oil companies there are very few “excellent” or “high-level” leaders. That lack of leadership has prompted the International Energy Agency, the rich countries’ watchdog, to warn of another possible supply crunch by mid-decade.

Mr Marican contributed to reduce the risk of such a shortage by his relentless search for oil development deals overseas until the final weeks of his tenure.

Late last year Mr Marican struck three deals to tap some of Iraq’s biggest oil fields, adding up to 800,000 barrels of potential production to Petronas’s portfolio.

Petronas has also done well in trickier places – such as Iran and Sudan – where international oil companies fear to tread.

He persuaded Tiaa-Cref, the large US asset manager, to keep its stake in Petronas in spite of misgivings about the company’s impact in Sudan, where the government has been condemned for human rights abuses. Three Chinese companies and an Indian company also involved in Sudan were unwilling or unable to assuage Tiaa-Cref’s concerns and lost its investments.

Petronas’s ability to invest in oil and gas could be curtailed if the Malaysian government were to decide to take a more hands -on approach, analysts and government officials said.

Tony Pua, an MP for the opposition Democratic Action party, said: “The fear is that the wealth of Petronas is now at risk of further plunder by the government.” Petronas amassed a $30bn cash pile in the past decade.

The balance sheet of Malaysia’s finance ministry is not so healthy. The country’s budget deficit reached a 20-year high of 7.4 per cent of gross domestic product in 2009 after the government introduced two fiscal stimulus programmes.

There was no direct government reply to Mr Pua but many Malaysians saw the appointment of Shamsul Azhar Abbas to succeed Mr Marican as chief as a sign that Petronas would remain relatively free of government interference.

Mr Shamsul was previously chief executive of Misc, Petronas’s shipping subsidiary. Robin West, an industry consultant, said changing the policy of allowing Petronas to make decisions with minimal interference would be a disaster. Mr West, chairman of PFC Energy, said Mr Shamsul was capable and experienced. But much of his success will depend on whether he is forced to compete with Malaysia’s prime minister for control of Petronas.

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Petronas must pay royalties: Ku Li

Petronas must pay royalties: Ku Li

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Petronas chairman Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah continues to insist that the national oil corporation must pay oil royalties to the relevant state governments.


He called on the new Petronas CEO to conduct business according to the law, not the directive of politicians.

Petronas recently announced the appointment of Datuk Shamsul Azhar Abbas as its president and chief executive officer.

“In my opinion, I don’t think they (Petronas) should follow the directions of politicians. They must work in accordance with the law.

“If they find the direction is ill-advised, then they should advise the politicians accordingly so that they will not be forced to do things which are contrary to the provisions of the law and the agreement,” he told reporters at his house here Friday.

He suggested an advisory council be established to advise the Prime Minister and monitor Petronas’ performance.

The Gua Musang MP maintained his stand that state governments were entitled to a 5% royalty for petroleum extracted off their waters -– as there was no provision in law for the disbursement of wang ehsan, a goodwill payment that the Federal Government insisted states such as Kelantan was only qualified for.

Waving a copy of the Petroleum Development Act 1974, he quoted Section 4 of the Act: “In return for the ownership and the rights, powers, liberties and privileges vested in it by virtue of this Act, the Corporation shall make to the Government of the Federation and the Government of any relevant State such cash payment as may be agreed between the parties concerned.”

On calls by certain quarters in Umno for him to step down as MP, the Umno veteran leader said the party might not be able to retain the seat if he did so, and there was the possibility others might follow in stepping down.

On allegations that he had recently given a speech at a gathering organised by the Opposition in Kelantan, Tengku Razaleigh clarified that he had spoken at an event initiated only by non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

“I was invited by a group of NGOs from Kelantan and Terengganu – about 52 of them. I went on the condition of speaking alone,” he said.

He added that everyone was invited to the gathering regardless of their political affiliation.

READ MORE - Petronas must pay royalties: Ku Li

Shamsul Azhar is new Petronas president and CEO

Shamsul Azhar is new Petronas president and CEO

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
PUTRAJAYA: Datuk Shamsul Azhar Abbas has been appointed president and chief executive officer of Petronas effective February 10 2010, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced today.

He has also been appointed Acting Chairman of the Petronas Board of Directors.

Shamsul Azhar, 57, who served as MISC President and Chief Executive Officer between 2004 and 2009, will replace Tan Sri Mohd Hassan Merican whose contract ends on February 9.

Najib said Shamsul Azhar, who joined Petronas in 1974, has vast experience in the nation's petroleum industry having served in several senior positions, including that of Vice President of Oil Business, Vice President Petrochemicals, Vice President Exploration (Upstream) and Vice President Maritime and Logistics.

"I am confident he is qualified and experienced to bring continued suceess to Petronas," he said.

Najib also thanked Hassan for his invaluable contribution to the nation and petroleum industry having served as Acting Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Petronas since 1995.

Datuk Shamsul Azhar Abbas, the new president and CEO of Petronas effective Feb 10 2010.

Hassan began his career with the national oil company in 1989 as Senior Vice President, Finance, before being appointed President and Chief Executive Officer in 1995 and later also assumed the position of Acting Chairman in 2004.

Najib said during Hassan's tenure at the national oil company, Petronas enjoyed good repute and excellent standing, internationally, and was the only Fortune 500 company in Malaysia.

"He was also instrumental in bringing Petronas to foreign shores, competing side-by-side with international oil giants," added the Prime Minister.

With vast experience behind him, Najib hoped Hassan would continue to contribute his knowledge and experiene to nation building especially in the energy sector.

READ MORE - Shamsul Azhar is new Petronas president and CEO