By Nura Valentiana Lorna and Jacintha Jolene
KUCHING: The Sarawak Gas Roadmap (SGR) by Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (Petros) will be a major breakthrough in bringing piped liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Kuching.
“The effort is one of the state government’s aspirations,” said Petros senior vice-president (corporate strategy) Abang Arabi Abang Narudin.
“Sarawak has more than 50 per cent of gas resources in Malaysia. And yet we still have folk or businesses in Kuching that do not have access to natural gas.
“This will provide a significant opportunity and potential to increase domestic gas utilisation through more value-added downstream oil and gas in Sarawak.”
Abang Arabi was speaking during the Sarawak-Korea Energy Business Forum themed “Accelerating the Sarawak-Korea Strategic Energy Partnership” here today.
“Sarawak now produces about 4.4 billion cubic feet of gas per day, with only about six per cent being consumed domestically while the rest is exported as LNG.
“Other major gas-producing countries like Qatar, Australia and Indonesia have quite a significant number of gas produced for domestic economy.
“Thus, to expand domestic gas utilisation throughout the state by bringing LNG or piped gas is our ultimate goal of development opportunities.”
Abang Arbini explained that the Bintulu-Samalaju gas pipeline was expected to be operational by 2025 or 2026.
The 70km-long pipeline will channel natural gas from Bintulu to the Samalaju Industrial Park, one of the four oil and gas strategic hubs in the state.
He pointed out there were other industrial opportunities in Samalaju such as the integrated ammonia industrial cluster, industrial fuel, and exporting ammonia as hydrogen carrier.
“The opportunity to pursue the petrochemical market persists in Bintulu, where Sarawak’s first methanol plant, Tanjung Kidurong, is being built.
“One big opportunity is the olefins-aromatics complex with integrated mixed feed cracker and condensate splitter, but that would require the import of ethane and condensate.”
