PETRONAS, through PETRONAS International Corporation Ltd, has signed a Sales & Purchase agreement to acquire Kuwait Petroleum (Thailand) Ltd (KPTL) from Kuwait Petroleum International Ltd, paving the way for the Malaysian petroleum entity to further expand its presence in the retail and marketing sector of the Thai oil and gas industry.Under the terms of the S&P agreement signed today, PETRONAS will take over KPTL’s retail service station and lubricant businesses, including 117 operational petrol stations located in major cities in Thailand, as well as KPTL’s lubricant sales business conducted via the service stations and through dealerships and direct customers.

The acquisition, expected to be completed by the end of January 2005, does not include KPTL’s aviation business, which will be handed over to Kuwait Petroleum Aviation (Thailand) Ltd.

About 70 per cent of the stations are located in the Bangkok metropolitan area, while the rest is spread out in other areas of Chiangmai, Nakorn Rachasima and Pattaya.

Upon completion of the acquisition, PETRONAS will embark on a 12-month programme to re-image the service stations and their convenience stores to reflect the PETRONAS brand and identity. The outlets would also be upgraded to include more product offerings and services.

PETRONAS is already operating three service stations in Thailand through its subsidiary PETRONAS Marketing (Thailand) Co. Ltd. The newly acquired stations would allow PETRONAS to expand its fuel and petroleum products retail and marketing business in Thailand.

Issued by
Media Relations & Information Department