MOSCOW (MRC) -- Petronas and the Sarawak state government are currently working on the Sarawak Petrochemical Master Plan study, which covers the coastal areas of Sarawak in Malaysia, according to the Borneo Post, reported Apic-online.
The study will look into the technical, commercial and economic feasibility of developing the petrochemical industry in Sarawak, said the report citing Datuk Julaihi Narawi, Sarawak's assistant minister of industrial development (investment and promotion).
"Gas-based petrochemical industry is being pursued by the state," he said. "In view of the gas composition, which is high in methane content, therefore ammonia (and its derivatives) or methanol (and its derivatives) are the most viable options for the state's petchem industry," he noted, adding that "one petchem project has been approved, while the other is under consideration."
Last month, Petronas signed a memorandum of understanding with Yayasan Hartanah Bumiputera Sarawak, an entity of the Sarawak state government, to jointly conduct a pre-feasibility study for a methanol plant in Bintulu, Sarawak.
The parties will assess the overall technical and commercial viability and feasibility of building a methanol and methanol derivatives complex at the Samalaju Industrial Park.
As MRC informed before, Petronas was seeking to raise USD7.2 bln (RM29.5 bln) for its Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (Rapid) project in one of the largest project financings from Asia in recent years. The state-owned oil company asked banks for underwriting commitments of at least USD500 mln (RM2 bln) in June 2016. The project in the southern state of Johor is set to be Malaysia’s largest liquid-based green-field downstream development. It will consist of a 300,000-bpd refinery and petrochemical complex, with a combined chemical output capacity of 7.7 mln tpa.
Petronas, short for Petroliam Nasional Berhad, is a Malaysian oil and gas company wholly owned by the Government of Malaysia. The Group is engaged in a wide spectrum of petroleum activities, including upstream exploration and production of oil and gas to downstream oil refining; marketing and distribution of petroleum products; trading; gas processing and liquefaction; gas transmission pipeline network operations; marketing of liquefied natural gas; petrochemical manufacturing and marketing; shipping; automotive engineering; and property investment.
MRC