Petronas said today it posted a record net profit in the year to March on higher crude oil prices due to strong demand from China and India and uncertainties in the Middle East.

"It cannot be denied that the higher profit was mainly due to the better crude oil prices," Hassan Merican, Petronas chief executive officer told reporters.

Petronas, state-owned and the country's largest energy company, said its net profit rose 22.6 percent to a record RM43.6 as revenues increased 22 percent to RM166.9 billion.

Hassan said the company would spend some RM27.7 billion in the year to March 2007, of which RM19.2 billion would be for domestic investment, with the focus on oil exploration and logistics.

"(In) the last two years, we have been very aggressive in oil exploration and I believe that it is starting to bear fruit (and) the future focus will be realising these investments," he said.

Strong growth

Petronas said global demand for oil and gas continued to increase primarily due to the strong growth in the emerging economies of China and India.

"On-going tensions in the Middle East, recurring supply disruptions in Venezuela, Nigeria and Iraq ... heightened concerns over security of supply," it added in a statement.

Hassan said Petronas would maintain its current oil production levels with output expected to rise in 2008 and 2009, when deepwater wells come on stream.

Petronas' total oil output was flat at 1.59 billion barrels in the year.

Petronas is the only Malaysian company to be listed in the Fortune Global 500 list of the world's biggest firms.