There is no impact from the decision of Saudi Arabian Oil Co (Saudi Aramco) to pull out from Petronas' refining and petrochemical complex project in Pengerang, Johor, Finance Minister II Johari Abdul Ghani said.

Johari said this was because Petronas had been bankrolling the Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (Rapid) project from the start.

"The cash flow for the funding of this project, till completion, has always been based solely on Petronas' own strength," he told Malaysiakini.

Johari said Saudi Aramco's planned involvement in the project was only an option.

"Since Petronas could not agree on some of the terms, both parties decided to stop the negotiations and move on," the minister said.

Last week, it was reported that Saudi Aramco had shelved its plans to enter into a joint venture with Petronas.

The Wall Street Journal last Thursday quoted sources who said Saudi Aramco had concluded that it would not generate sufficient revenue from the project.

However, Reuters reported last Friday that Petronas would be pushing ahead with plans to start Rapid's operations in 2019, despite Saudi Aramco's withdrawal.

"Petronas would like clarify that its Pengerang Integrated Complex project will continue to be the focus of its downstream growth agenda in the coming years," the company reportedly said, adding that the project was now 54 percent completed.