[16] Despite this, Taib decided to set up a statutory body named "HIKMA" (Hidrokarbon Malaysia),[11] which would have total rights of oil found in the territorial waters of Sabah and Sarawak.

Late in 1989, the governments of Vietnam and Myanmar (Burma) invited Petronas Carigali to take part in joint ventures to explore for oil in their coastal waters.

Another new venture in 1990 was in ship-owning, since Petronas' existing arrangements with MISC and with Nigeria's state oil company would be inadequate to transport the additional exports of LNG due to start in 1994, under the contract with Saibu Gas.

Petronas did not lose sight of the government's commitment to Malaysian self-reliance, and the company's second refinery at Malacca, completed in 1994, with a capacity of 100,000 barrels per day (16,000 m3/d), promoted the same policy.

The fact that it was built in a joint venture with Samsung of Korea, the Chinese Petroleum Corporation of Taiwan, and Caltex of the United States did not negate the policy, for the subsidiary company Petronas Penapisan (Melaka) had a decisive 45% of equity while sharing the enormous costs of and gaining advanced technology for the project.

Petronas, with its policies of promoting self-reliance, helping to develop associated industries, and varying the sources and uses of oil and gas, played an important role in the Malaysian economy as a whole.

Its first LPG joint venture in China was launched that year, and the company acquired a 29.3% interest in Malaysia International Shipping Corporation Berhad (MISC).

By 2002, Petronas had signed seven new PSCs and secured stakes in eight exploration blocks in eight countries, including Gabon, Cameroon, Niger, Egypt, Yemen, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad commented on the achievement in a May 2003 Bernama News Agency article, claiming that "the Petronas LNG complex now serves as another shining example of a vision realized of a national aspiration, transformed into reality by the same belief among Malaysians that 'we can do it.'"

[24] On 17 January 2013, Petronas issued a statement that an onshore oil and gas discovery has been made in the state after drilling a test well about 20 kilometres away from the city of Miri in northern Sarawak.

Sweden's Government gave the green light for the Public Prosecutor in October 2018 to indict the two top executives[33] On 1 November 2018, and the Swedish Prosecution Authority notified Lundin Petroleum AB that the company might be liable to a corporate fine and forfeiture of economic benefits of SEK 3,285 million (app.

The Swedish war crimes investigation raises the issue of access to remedy and reparation for victims of human rights violations linked with business activities.

Asser Institute for International Law in The Hague organised the conference 'Towards criminal liability of corporations for human rights violations: The Lundin case in Sweden'.

PETRONAS has also sought to cancel the manager's arrest warrant and submitted a request for arbitration at the World Bank's International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

[46][47][48] Middle East Monitor contributor Nasim Ahmed opined that the Sudanese government's actions against Malaysian, Turkish, Qatari and Chinese companies were part of a foreign policy shift to court Western investors.

[49] Former federal counsel and University of Technology Malaysia visiting professor Salleh Buang opined that the Sudanese government's actions violated international law on the undue expropriation of commercial assets without adequate compensation, citing the 1927 Chorzów Factory case.

[60] The court handed another "decisive victory" to Malaysia on 4 June, when it found that the arbitral tribunal that had heard the petition filed by the Sulu heirs did not have jurisdiction over the case.

[63] According to Reuters, the Dutch judges sided with Malaysia, saying the original pact lacked a clause binding parties to arbitration and the French stay meant the claim was not enforceable in the Netherlands.

[66] He was sentenced to six months in prison and banned from acting as an arbitrator for one year for "knowingly disobeying rulings and orders from the Madrid High Court of Justice".

[68] On 30 May 2024, Petronas moved a Manhattan court to seek directions for litigation funding firm Therium and its parent company to turn over subpoenaed financial documents and communications.

[70] The ruling highlighted irregularities in the arbitration process led by Gonzalo Stampa and raised concerns about practices such as forum shopping and unregulated litigation funding in European courts.

[73][74]  Keith Ellison, former vice-chairman of the Democratic National Committee and Minnesota attorney general, pointed out that the case highlighted the enormous scope for "corruption," irresponsible profiteering, and foreign influence operations to subvert arbitration proceedings".

[76] In December 2019, prime minister Mahathir Mohamad mooted an idea of selling a percentage of PETRONAS stake to Sabah and Sarawak because the Pakatan Harapan government was unable to fulfill its promise of giving 20% oil royalty to both the states.

[95] On 22 July 2013, Petronas unveiled a refreshed version of its corporate logo in that year's Asia Oil and Gas Conference, symbolising the growth and progression of its brand.

Involves in the development and the management of the Kuala Lumpur City Centre project which includes the PETRONAS Twin Towers, Menara Exxon Mobil and KLCC Park.

A joint venture will oversee the construction, slated to begin in the fourth quarter of this year at Petronas's integrated refinery and petrochemical complex in Pengerang, Johor.

The facility is designed to process approximately 650,000 tons of raw materials annually, producing sustainable aviation fuel, hydrogenated vegetable oil, and bio-naphtha.

[105] In terms of further Formula One involvement, every year PETRONAS took the BMW Sauber team to various parts of Malaysia for F1 demos, so the public who are unable to go to the track itself get to experience a little bit of what F1 offers.

Other promotional events are held in the run up to the race and the drivers play an integral part in this so much so that Nick Heidfeld conceded that there were more fans for BMW Sauber in Malaysia than in most other countries.

These sponsorships are granted based on academic accomplishments, extracurricular involvements, family background, and an evaluation of the student's character (assessed through the EduCamp program, mandatory for all aspiring PETRONAS scholars).