IrJamal.blogspot.com: petroliam nasional bhd

KOTA KINABALU, Feb 19 — Petronas and Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) will soon be working on bringing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Bintulu to generate alternative power supply to Sabah’s east coast.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman said this was to address the critical shortage of power supply in the east coast, especially since the proposed coal-fired power plant project was recently scrapped.

“I know that we have a critical problem in terms of providing stable electricity to the people in the east coast, and not many know that TNB was subsidising RM2 million a day for diesel used in the various independent power plants there,” he said at Gerakan’s Chinese New Year and Chap Goh Mei celebrations here today.

Musa said the venture between Petronas and TNB was a directive by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak during the recent National Economic Action Council (NEAC) meeting, which came prior to his meeting with the premier, together with Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan and state Industrial Development Minister Datuk Raymond Tan on the proposed coal-fired power plant.

During that meeting, Musa told Najib of the Sabah people’s unhappiness over the project.

Meanwhile, Gerakan president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon said the party fully supported the decision by the government to scrap the proposed coal-fired power plant project, that was in line with the sustainability concept under the New Economic Model.

“This (decision) reflects the commitment of the chief minister and the BN (Barisan Nasional) to continue to make environment as its main agenda. So, this is most welcome,” he said.

Koh, who is also minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, said the scrapping of the project was one of three reasons for BN to smile in the Chinese New Year of the Rabbit.

The other two, he said, were the victory in the Batu Sapi parliamentary by-election and Gerakan receiving many new members. — Bernama

Petroliam Nasional Bhd., Malaysia’s state energy company, said it made “major” oil and gas discoveries that may help replenish the Southeast Asian nation’s diminishing reserves.

Early estimates show a total 2.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 100 million barrels of crude at two wells off the coast of Malaysia’s Sarawak state on Borneo Island, the Kuala Lumpur-based company said in a statement today.

“These discoveries are expected to further enhance exploration potential offshore Sarawak,” said Petroliam Nasional, known as Petronas. “In the next three years, over 50 exploration wells are expected to be drilled offshore Malaysia by Petronas and its production-sharing contractors.”

The nation’s crude and natural gas production has fallen for two straight years, declining to the equivalent of 1.63 million barrels of oil a day in the year ended March 31 from 1.66 million a day a year earlier, according to Petronas’s 2010 annual report. The country has responded by offering companies incentives to explore deeper and less-profitable fields in a bid to increase reserves as energy demand rises.

Petronas said it drilled to a depth of almost 4,000 meters (13,000 feet) below sea level at its NC3 well in Block SK316 off Sarawak, with early estimates showing 2.6 trillion cubic feet of gas in place. Production flow test results demonstrate that the field is “technically producible,” the company said, without commenting on its viability.

Tax Incentives

The nearby Spaoh-1 well in Block SK306 shows “similar promise,” with preliminary estimates of 100 million barrels of oil and 2 billion cubic feet of gas, Petronas said. This was drilled to 3,000 meters and is being prepared for production testing, it said.

Prime Minister Najib Razak announced Nov. 30 several tax incentives to encourage the exploration of less-profitable oil fields, including a reduced income tax of 25 percent, from an earlier 38 percent. Southeast Asia’s second-largest oil and gas producer will also accelerate capital allowances and waive export duties on oil produced and exported from marginal fields to improve their viability, Najib said.

Malaysia has domestic crude oil reserves to last 24 years and natural gas for 38 years, the finance ministry said on Oct 15. Indonesia is the biggest oil and gas producer in Southeast Asia.

Malaysia had 84.1 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves at the end of 2009, the fourth-biggest in Asia, according to the BP Statistical Review. Its oil reserves stood at 5.5 billion barrels, the review said.

“These activities, especially if they result in discoveries, are expected to spur business opportunities in the oil and gas industry and will promote investment in the country,” Petronas said.

Source:

Bloomberg

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