Malaysia's Petra Perdana eyes acquisitions

By Clarence Fernandez

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian energy services firm Petra Perdana Bhd (PTRD.KL: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is seeking acquisitions to drive growth as rising crude oil prices make refurbishing aging oilfields profitable, a top company official said on Monday.

"Oil and gas activities around the region, and around the world, are just phenomenal at the moment," Chief Executive Tengku Ibrahim Putra told Reuters.

"There's a lot of new projects being started and new projects being planned. Taking all this into account, we are very, very optimistic about the industry."

The firm's Petra Energy (PTRE.KL: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) subsidiary, which does refurbishing and maintenance work on aging oil fields, wants to make acquisitions in areas that complement its operations, Tengku Ibrahim said.

"Now we're in a position where we want to accelerate our growth, so why not look at acquiring companies -- that's meaningful and can be of added value to us generally," Tengku Ibrahim said. He declined to name any likely targets.

"Petra Energy is a brownfield company, doing more mechanical and electrical works and so on," Tengku Ibrahim said. "So if we are looking at a company it will be something that is of value in how it can be a part of the bigger picture."

Petra Energy's orderbook of about 850 million ringgit ($265.3 million) could last up to five years, he said, adding that more jobs could be created from upgrading work required by at least 600 elderly oil platforms across Southeast Asia.

Petra Perdana owns 60 percent of Petra Energy, which has a market value of 430 million ringgit ($134 million). Its shares fallen 55 percent since it listed last July.