Your Excellency President Idriss Déby, President of the Republic of Chad

Honorable Heads of States,

Honorable Representative of the Head of State of the Republic of Cameroon

Honorable President of the National Assembly of Chad,

Distinguished Guests,

Distinguished Ministers from Chad,

Distinguished Representatives from the World Bank,

Distinguished Members of the Diplomatic Corps,

Ladies and Gentlemen.

A very good afternoon,

On behalf of Petronas I would like to extend a very warm welcome to all of our guests to this auspicious occasion. I would like to record our sincere appreciation to his Excellency President Déby for graciously consenting to honor us with his presence here today and to officiate at this historic ceremony.

Today’s inauguration of the Chad/Cameroon integrated oil development and pipeline project, a joint-venture of ExxonMobil, Petronas and ChevronTexaco, marks another important milestone for the partners, further cementing the close cooperation among them. More importantly, this event unfolds yet another meaningful chapter in the long term beneficial multilateral relationships between the joint-venture partners, the governments and the people of Chad and Cameroon and the World Bank.

Petronas’ relationship with Chad began in 1999 when Esso Exploration and Production Chad and the Chad government invited us to bid for equity in the project. This partnership was further strengthened when Petronas finally participated in the project in the following year to promote these business collaborations in Chad and Cameroon.

It is heartening to know that over the years, we have seen tremendous collaborative efforts between the co-ventures, the two governments and the World Bank Group. Our participation in this integrated project has enabled us to position Petronas not only as a partner of choice for our co-ventures, but also to help and enhance the relations between Petronas Malaysia and the governments of Chad and Cameroon. In this regard, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to His Excellency President Déby for his support and commitment without which this project would not have been possible.

As we rejoice in our successful partnership, let us recall the days leading to today’s landmark event. The day of June 6 of the year 2000 was memorable not only to the consortium partners but also for the people of Chad and Cameroon. It was on this day that the World Bank announced its participation in this integrated oil development and pipeline project, paving the way for the acceleration in the socio-economic development of the two neighboring nations.

I am glad that this project has and will continue to contribute significantly to the development of Chad and Cameroon, becoming a major catalyst in uplifting the standard of living among the communities of the two nations. This project involves lots of skills, infrastructure developments and created employment opportunities as well as various spin-off economic activities which in turn helped to significantly boost the economic growth of both Chad and Cameroon.

At the same time, in support of the host governments’ efforts to maximize the resources and enhance the knowledge and skills of their citizens, a massive training program was conducted for the local workforce. The consortium’s commitment to training and skills enhancement and its local employees is very much in line with the Petronas aspiration to contribute to the well-being of the people and the nation where it operates, as embodied in our corporate mission. The consortium has planned to recruit more personnel to add to this pool of resources as and when the need arises.

Ladies and Gentlemen, in undertaking this project, our commitment to its health, safety and environment was never compromised and is in fact of the utmost importance. We are proud that today, the project’s overall work safety record is exemplary with over 60 million men hours clocked without any lost time incident on project construction and drilling sites.

Likewise, works on the project have been carefully planned to minimize impacts on the environment. With the commissioned commencement of the project, Chad is now in the ranks of oil-exporting nations. The field now produces an average of 95,000 barrels per day of oil, which is transported through a 1,070-kilometer pipeline from the Doba oilfield to Kribi in Cameroon. Production is expected to peak at 225,000 barrels per day in July next year. I am sure that a combined technical expertise and experience of the consortium partners and the support of the governments and the World Bank would bring about synergistic advantages beneficial to all parties. In this context, I believe this project not only provides revenue but also intangible benefits such as a skilled workforce and technology acquisition which will eventually improve the quality of life of the people of Chad and Cameroon.

The success thus far would not have been possible without the support and cooperation of the joint-venture partners, and the invaluable encouragement and guidance extended to us by the governments of Chad and Cameroon. I would therefore like to take this opportunity to thank all concerned for their assistance, support and understanding. We hope that with the continued cooperation, we will be able to further strengthen and expand the strategic alliance among our companies, leveraging our competitive advantage to become a major force in this region.

Finally, I would like to once again thank His Excellency President Déby for honoring us with his presence.

Thank you.