KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Malaysian state-owned oiland gas firm Petroliam Nasional Berhad, or Petronas,has set up a new business within the group to make a push intorenewable energy, the head of the new venture said on Tuesday.
Petronas has expressed interest over the last year todiversify into renewables amid low oil prices. In March, ChiefExecutive Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin said Petronas will explorenew business areas including new energy and that the companywill assess opportunities in solar power.
Jay Mariyappan told an industry forum that the 'New Energy'team is in the early stages of looking at options in therenewable energy space.
Mariyappan's LinkedIn profile shows he started at Petronasin October. Before joining the Malaysian firm, he was managingdirector of Sindicatum Sustainable Resources, a Singapore-basedclean energy developer.
Petronas is the latest oil and gas major to look into therenewables space. Top oil companies including Royal Dutch Shell, BP and Total are investing more incleaner energy sources such as solar and wind power and electricvehicle technology.
Petronas is the sole manager of Malaysia's oil and gasreserves and is a significant contributor to government revenue.
Earlier this month, the International Renewable EnergyAgency (IRENA) said Southeast Asia is a potential hotspot forrenewable energy, yet the region has not met expectationsbecause it lacks policy frameworks that would encourageinvestment.
Global renewable capacity, excluding hydro, has soared fromunder 100,000 megawatts (MW) in 2000 to more than 1 million MWin 2017, according to IRENA data.
Only a tiny portion of that has come in Southeast Asia,though more efforts have been made recently.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations plans to generate23 percent of its primary energy needs from renewables by 2025,up from just over 10 percent now.(Reporting by A. AnanthalakshmiEditing by Manolo Serapio Jr.)
