National oil company Petronas has played down suggestions in news reports that its chief executive officer Mohd Hassan Marican ( photo ) could be a prospective candidate to run the Iraqi national oil company in the post-war reconstruction of that country.

Two British newspapers named Hassan as o­ne of two possible candidates who could be considered for the post should the Bush administration decide to appoint a Muslim figure to deflect accusations that the US intends to grab Iraq's oil reserves for itself.

Gov't nod needed

In an email statement, a Petronas spokesperson said the company was aware of the speculation in two foreign press reports earlier this month. However, he said no other information had been received o­n the matter.

The spokesperson stressed that the statement was issued to clarify the company's position in response to a news report in today's The Star and that it was not Hassan's personal response.

"We are aware of the reports in the Financial Times and The Independent but to date we have not been approached. Any decision will require the approval of the government of Malaysia," the statement said.

The Foreign Ministry's Iraq desk could not provide further information o­n the matter.

According to the foreign press reports, the names of Hassan and Algeria's Oil Minister Chakib Khelil had come up during discussions in Washington o­n plans for the post-conflict Iraqi oil sector.

However, the two were not the o­nly candidates named, and neither were they the more prominent o­nes.

The Independent

had named Phillip Carroll, a US citizen who was chief executive of Shell's American business until 1998, as the "leading candidate" for the post, in line with plans for leading western oil executives to be brought to Iraq to either administer or advise o­n the country's industry.

Another western oil company executive, former BP deputy chief executive Rodney Chase was said to have already been picked by Pentagon to manage Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organisation.

The proposals for the running of the oil sector were based o­n the parallel plan to appoint American retired generals and diplomats to an interim Iraqi government.

Petronas not in Iraq

Contacted later, Frank Whitaker, the press officer of the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur, could not confirm the two British press reports.

"We first saw the information in today's newspaper. We are checking this with Washington," he said.

The British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur declined to comment o­n the two press reports.

"It is not for the high commission to comment o­n the reports," said Rob Noble, second secretary for political and public diplomacy matters.

Meanwhile, the Petronas spokesperson said the company does not have any outstanding business operations in Iraq.

Another Petronas officer told malaysiakini that, although there were negotiations earlier o­n possible projects, nothing had materialised from the company's earlier attempts to enter the Iraqi oil industry.

The company's operations in the Middle East are confined to UAE (Dubai), Bahrain, Iran and Yemen. Other locations where the company had been prospecting for oil are in Algeria and Syria.