Now, it's becoming interesting ....

Hei, the other day, Tengku Razaleigh said that Petronas had discovered a huge oil field and today, someone in the exploration section of Petronas countered that there was no such thing. He went on to say that if Petronas had really discovered the oil field of the magnitude claimed by Tengku Razaleigh, Petronas would have already announced the discovery. More likely, Petronas would keep the discovery as secret as possible.

The explorer said that the geological structure in and around Malaysia region was such that it could not have trapped huge oil reserves to rank as the largest in the world. The region is too small to rival regions in the Middle East, Brazil, Mexico or Russia.

But Tengku Razaleigh didn't say where Petronas discovered the oil field. It could be in Sudan or Chad where Petronas is involved in extensive exploration. A person like Tengku Razaleigh is unlikely to tell a lie or to exaggerate. I am sure he got the news from somebody in Petronas or from those explorers working on contract with Petronas. Tengku Razaleigh even went so far as to say that the oil field was so huge that it might even adversely affect future oil prices when production came on stream. And if Tengku Razaleigh knows, Mahathir would definitely know about this.

As for me, I am happy to know that Malaysia is about to become an oil power.

BNM's Forex reserves ...

As at 15th March 2010, BNM's Forex reserves stand at RM 331.6809 billion or USD 96.6802 billion. It can sustain 9.2 months of import and is 4.3 times its short-term external debts. Compare this to Singapore's which is about twice as much for a population of one-sixth of Malaysia.

And by the way, the GBP and Euro exchange rates to the Ringgit are RM 4.9588 and RM 4.4836 respectively.

Update 08/04/2010: BNM's forex reserves as at 31/03/2010 stood at RM 311.7 billion. In 2 weeks, about RM 20 billions disappeared. How come so fast !

Astounding news ...

A hint from a former minister in the Malaysian government that Petronas (Malaysia's national petroleum company) had recently discovered one of the biggest (if not the biggest) oilfields in the world is shattering news indeed . The ex-minister declined to say where the oilfield was located.

What does this mean to Malaysia ? Obviously, the country would become one of the biggest players in the oil business to rival Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Russia, Mexico and Venezuela. The potential to earn more petro-dollars when the oilfield becomes developed means that Malaysia's GNP and its forex reserves would be at a high level for some years to come and needless to say, the Ringgit would strengthen to a level before the 1998 financial crisis.

I hope when oil production comes on stream from the new field, the windfall in income is managed properly by those in power.