BINTULU (Aug 23): Petronas is set to kickstart the development of a gas delivery facility at Tanjong Kidurong here by supplying natural gas to Sarawak Petchem Sdn Bhd (SPSB) and Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB) beginning next year.

Premier of Sarawak Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg officiated at the ground-breaking ceremony for the Bintulu Additional Gas Sales Facility (BAGSF-2) yesterday.

Among those present at the event were his deputies Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian and Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan, Petronas chairman Tan Sri Mohd Bakke Salleh, and Petronas president and group chief executive officer Datuk Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Kamadjaja Aziz.

In a released statement, Petronas said BAGSF-2 was designed with a capacity to deliver up to 390 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (MMscfd).

It also said the facility was set to occupy 70 hectares of land and have its own dedicated administration building, processing area, metering stations and related utilities.

It added that the facility would deliver 160 MMscfd of natural gas to a Sarawak government-owned methanol plant, to be operated by SPSB.

The methanol plant is currently under construction at Tanjong Kidurong.

It also informed that another 70 MMscfd of gas would be supplied to SEB’s Tanjong Kidurong power plant, adding that the remaining capacity would allow the facility to cater to future customers.

“The development of BAGSF-2 marks another significant milestone in our commitment to working together with the Sarawak state government for the sustainable growth of its oil and gas industry,” said Tengku Taufik.

“Once onstream, the BAGSF-2 will create new value-adding activities for Sarawak’s hydrocarbon resources, supporting the state’s aspiration for its petrochemicals and domestic power industry. We look forward to building on the strong partnership with the state government in developing Sarawak’s resources for the mutual prosperity of the state and the nation.” 

In 2016, Petronas signed an agreement with the Sarawak government on supplying a total of 450 MMscfd of natural gas for power generation and state-owned petrochemical industries in Sarawak.

In 2021, the national petroleum corporation inked another memorandum of understanding (MoU) to increase the gas supply to Sarawak to 1,200 MMscfd.