BINTULU, Sept 11 — Sarawak Chief Minister Datuk Abang Johari Openg has high hopes for Petchem Sdn Bhd to expand the state’s oil-and-gas industry downstream.
“The decision for the establishment of Petchem is timely due to abundance of natural gas as feedstock for the development of a mega methanol plant,” Abang Johari said at the ground breaking ceremony for the construction of the RM8.4 billion methanol plant at Tanjung Kidurong, near here today.
The plant, owned by state-linked Petchem, is expected to begin production in 2023, with an annual capacity of 1.7 million metric tons per annum (mtpa) of methanol.
Abang Johari said Petchem will receive 160 million standard cubic feet per day of natural gas feedstock for the plant from Petronas.
He also believes Sarawak holds the largest share of the remaining gas reserve in the country at 54 per cent and one-third of its remaining oil reserve at 29 per cent.
But he said his state administration is not contented with the existing development of the oil and gas industry in Sarawak, the reason being that the oil and gas products are still commodity base meant for exports.
“The irony is that the value-added activities are done abroad utilising our natural gas as raw materials in their petro-chemical industries,” he added.
The chief minister said the state government wants to maximise the oil and gas sector’s contribution to the state’s economy, with Bintulu to be another petro-chemical hub in Malaysia by inviting petro-chemical industries set up their plants in Sarawak.
“We will be intensely involved in developing the high value downstream products of oil and gas industries such as specialised and fine chemicals,” he said, adding that the state government will consider all feasible proposals to establish petro-chemical industries and will facilitate them accordingly.
He added the methanol and derivative project is one of the two initiatives of the Sarawak government to embark on more downstream value-adding petro-chemical industries while another is an ammonia and derivative plant.
He said as part of the industrialisation agenda, the state government will make high value petro-chemicals industry as one of the key drivers for the growth of the state’s manufacturing sector.
On the methanol plant, he said it will be a catalyst to further transform Bintulu from the current world-renowned LNG gas producer to a petro-chemical hub with future downstream value-added integrated petrochemical complex.
