Petronas is the government-owned national petroleum corporation of Malaysia. Petronas is a contraction of Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Malaysian National Oil Company Inc.). The company was formed in 1974, after Malaysia joined OPEC, and is one of the most profitable in the world.
Petronas has been heavily involved in motorsport in recent years. It had been the primary sponsor of all the Malaysian Grands Prix from 1999 to 2017, and is a co-sponsor of the Chinese Grand Prix. Petronas was the sponsorship partner of Sauber from 1995 through 1999, and since then has partnered Mercedes.