The participation of Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) in the Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (Rapid) project in Johor does not pose a risk to Malaysia's interest, said Petronas.

Petronas president and group chief executive officer Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin said that his company and Saudi Aramco were involved in a "50-50 partnership".

"I don't see any risk in terms of Malaysian participation. We are national oil companies, both Aramco and ourselves.

"Developing communities around areas that we operate is normal (and) all of this will have to be done in commercial terms," he said during a press conference in Kuala Lumpur.

The US$7 billion agreement was signed by both Wan Zulkiflee and Saudi Aramco president and CEO Amin H Nasser today. It was witnessed by Saudi Arabia's King Salman Abdulaziz Al-Saud and Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Upon completion of the transaction – subject to regulatory approvals and the completion of other associated agreements – both Saudi Aramco and Petronas will hold equal ownership in selected assets and ventures of the Rapid project within the Pengerang Integrated Complex.

This signing puts to rest speculation which began after Wall Street Journal and Reuters published articles claiming that Saudi Aramco was pulling out of their deal with Petronas in Pengerang, Johor.

The report, quoting unnamed sources, claimed that a feasibility study found that the project would not generate sufficient returns, which purportedly prompted Saudi Aramco to scuttle the deal.

A celebration

Wan Zulkiflee declined to comment on this, calling it "media speculation", and instead emphasising how the two companies were a "strategic fit".

"I think each of us will bring value to the table - both companies are professionally run national oil companies

"Not often do we get two national oil companies with very strong reputation and good track record at developing mega projects, coming together and working on a greenfield project," he said.

Amin said Saudi Aramco did not respond to the speculation because the company was focused on preparing for the signing today.

"It was only just a matter of weeks and we will be having a celebration in Kuala Lumpur," he said.

He said there were never any plans to pull out from the project, while emphasising that the deal was a cause for celebration.

"From the beginning, we came with the intention to stay and have a strong partnership with Petronas and I'm glad today we are celebrating that partnership,"

'Sign of investor confidence'

Minister in charge of the Economic Planning Unit Abdul Rahman Dahlan, who was also at the press conference, said the deal was a sign of international confidence in Malaysia's economic despite the global economic uncertainties.

Saudi Arabia's Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Minister Khalid A Falih, on the other hand, said that Malaysia is a country in which the Arabian kingdom feels close to, when asked whether Saudi Aramco was looking into future collaborations with Petronas.

"We feel comfortable here, we feel at home. The alignment between the two governments and the people and the business partners on both sides are very strong.

"We have Malaysian investors in Saudi (and)... I also visited Proton because we're looking for investments elsewhere.

"We would encourage the private sector in Saudi to come and look at Malaysia for investments for all markets but also to address the needs of the broader region," he added.

The development of Pengerang Integrated Complex's is 60 percent complete and the refinery looks to be operational by 2019 on schedule.

Under the partnership, Saudi Aramco will supply up to 70 percent of the crude feedstock requirements of the refinery while Petronas will supply natural gas, power and other utilities.