KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 30 Reuters Malaysia39;s Petroliam Nasional Berhad Petronas will focus on bolstering its capital position to deal with increasing volatility in the energy market and restrictive access to financing, the state oil firm39;s chief executive said on Wednesday.

Petronas posted a 29 drop in secondquarter profit, in line with oil majors such as Chevron, Exxon Mobil and Shell.

Energy prices have fallen from highs hit following Russia39;s invasion of Ukraine a year and a half ago.

The company39;s profit for the AprilJune quarter fell to 16.4 billion ringgit 3.53 billion from 23 billion a year earlier. Revenue fell 13.4 to 79.9 billion ringgit.

CEO Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz said oil and gas prices will continue to remain volatile amid a global slowdown and what he called an uncompromisingly uncertain macro environment.

He expects Brent crude to trade between 70 and 80 per barrel for the rest of the year, lower than Wednesday39;s price of around 86.

It has become evidently clear that in order to address the headwinds in the near term and the structural changes in the long term, we must have more funds and liquidity available on hand, he told a news conference.

The CEO said access to external financing was getting increasingly difficult due to financial institutions prioritising sustainable projects, forcing Petronas to rethink its capital strategy and build its cash reserves for growth.

Dividends to Petronas39; sole shareholder, the Malaysian…