* Will need to draw on cash reserves, savings
* Net profit down 47 pct on lower crude prices, sales
* On track to pay government dividend
(Adds CEO comments, context)
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Malaysia's Petroliam
Nasional Bhd (Petronas) PETR.UL on Friday said cash from
operations will cover neither capital expenses nor committed
dividends for 2015, forcing the state-owned oil firm to draw on
reserves and further cost savings.
Petronas contributes almost half of Malaysia's oil revenue.
But weak global prices have depressed income, leaving the
country with a devalued currency and at risk of a credit-rating
downgrade, while debts mount at state investment fund 1MDB.
"We will have to persevere with more austerity measures,"
said Petronas President and Group Chief Executive Wan Zulkiflee
Wan Ariffin at an earnings briefing.
Petronas said net profit fell 47 percent to 11.1 billion
ringgit ($2.73 billion) in April-June due to weaker crude oil
prices as well as lower sales of oil and liquefied natural gas.
Still, "all the plans are in place" to meet the 26 billion
ringgit dividend promised to the government this year, Wan
Zulkiflee said.
He said cost savings reached 600 million ringgit in the
first half of 2015, and that oil prices will likely remain low
for the rest of the year. "There's growth in demand, but growth
in supply is a lot bigger," he said.
Petronas booked its first quarterly loss in five years at
the end of last year, but returned to profit in January-March.
In February, the firm said it would cut capital expenditure
by 15 percent this year to cope with lower oil prices, and its
dividend to the government by around 10 percent.
CANADA
Petronas in June said it would move forward with its Pacific
NorthWest liquefied natural gas project in British Columbia if
it gains approval from Canada's environmental regulators.
"We are at the tail end of the process and are confident of
the outcome," said Wan Zulkiflee said on Friday.
The $11 billion project has come up against opposition from
Canadian aboriginal groups. The Lax Kw'alaams First Nation Band
rejected an offer of C$1 billion ($765.99 million) in May in
return for supporting the project, saying the development
threatens salmon habitat next to the project's terminal site.
Petronas has received agreements from four of five groups it
has been talking to, Wan Zulkiflee said.
($1 = 4.0730 ringgit)
($1 = 1.3055 Canadian dollars)