The country's largest oil and gas services company launched an austerity drive in April after posting a loss from continuing operations of 4.23 billion ringgit ($1.02 billion), which included lowering operating costs besides salary and job cuts.

"Hopefully by the end of this month or next month, we should be closing that refinancing exercise," Sapura Energy's new Chief Executive Mohd Anuar Taib said during a virtual session at the International Petroleum Technology Conference.

Last month, Sapura Energy announced in a statement that it had raised about 1.2 billion ringgit in working capital facilities from Maybank Islamic and CIMB Bank, to finance existing projects and take up future contracts globally.

The company is seeking to refinance loans and revolving credit facilities worth over 10 billion ringgit, according to a Bloomberg report in January.

Mohd Anuar said the company will continue with its cost reduction exercise to deliver $250 million in value generation to shareholders this year, and institutionalise operational excellence to boost competitiveness.

The company will also focus more on exploration and production, especially in gas development and wind energy over the next few years, said Mohd Anuar, who on Monday officially took over as Sapura Energy's new chief executive.

($1 = 4.1430 ringgit)

(Reporting by Joseph Sipalan; editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)