Petronas commences delivery of 160 million standard cubic feet of gas per day to new Bintulu methanol plant
BINTULU, Sept 18 — The Bintulu Additional Gas Facility (BAGSF-2) today commenced delivery of gas to a new Sarawak methanol plant in Bintulu, supporting the further growth of the petrochemical industry in Sarawak.
The initial supply of gas from BAGSF-2 via a newly built pipeline provides the fuel for the commissioning of the world scale Sarawak Petchem Sdn Bhd’s (SPSB) methanol plant.
With a design capacity of 390 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (MMscfd), the BAGSF-2 facility caters to the requirement of the new methanol plant (160 MMscfd), plus 70 MMscfd to supply to the Sarawak Energy Berhad’s (SEB) existing power plant in Bintulu.
The remaining capacity is allocated for other projects earmarked in Bintulu, under the Sarawak Gas Roadmap.
A ceremony was held at the facility in Tanjung Kidurong to commemorate the facility’s readiness to deliver the gas, which was officiated by Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg.
Malaysia Petronas management senior vice president Mohamed Firouz Asnan, speaking at the ceremony to mark the commencement of the delivery, said the additional supply of gas will power the further growth of Sarawak’s downstream sector, especially in the Bintulu area.
“This project is a testament to our commitment to support the state’s aspiration for greater downstream development.
“This is grounded in our ‘Amanah’ to responsibly develop the hydrocarbon resources in Malaysia for the benefit of her people”, Firouz added.
He said in 2016, Petronas signed an agreement with the Sarawak government to supply a total of 450MMscfd of natural gas to Sarawak for power generation and state-owned petrochemical industries, which led to the construction of BAGSF-2 undertaken by Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd.
“Petronas, through our chemicals group, is also supporting the project, through the Offtake Agreement,” he said, adding that in December 2021, Petronas Chemical Marketing Labuan Ltd (PCML), signed the sales and purchase agreement with Sarawak Petchem which guaranteed its product offtake.
He said Petronas, together with Petroleum Arrangement Contractors, will continue to invest in developing new offshore production facilities as well as pipelines and onshore facilities to connect the supply to the customers.
“As we speak, we are progressing the Jerun and Kasawari Phase 1 development which are scheduled for first gas next year,” he said.
He added that other projects in the pipeline include Rosmari & Majoram which was sanctioned late last year while Petronas continues to progress the studies on the giant Lang Lebah project, targeted for sanctioning in Q1 next year.
