Petronas Rapid complex may include power plant

Star Property By EUGENE MAHALINGAM Nov 8, 2011

PETALING JAYA: Petroliam Nasional Bhd’s (Petronas) planned RM60bil refinery and petrochemical integrated development (Rapid) petrochemical complex in Pengerang, southern Johor, will likely include a power plant that will support the petrochemical industry there, sources familiar with the plans said.

According to sources, the national oil company is looking into putting up the plant on its own or through a joint venture.

Petronas’ venture into the power-generation business is not new. In September, it purchased a 30% stake in GMR Energy Singapore Pte Ltd, which is developing an 800MW combined cycle gas turbine power plant on Jurong island, Singapore.

On the local front, Petronas is in the power sector via investments in the Kimanis power plant and the proposed Lahad Datu power plant in Sabah.

The Kimanis plant is jointly developed by Petronas Gas Bhd in partnership with Yayasan Sabah through NRG Consortium (Sabah) Sdn Bhd, while the Lahad Datu plant is being built by a Tenaga Nasional Bhd-led consortium together with Petronas and a Sabah state entity.

Both power projects are expected to boost electricity supply in Sabah by 600 MW.

Meanwhile, the Petronas Rapid project, which is expected to be commissioned by the end of 2016, is said to eventually include multinational oil and gas companies as joint-venture partners.

Being a part of the national oil company’s efforts to expand its downstream production, the project is expected to create at least 20,000 jobs during the construction phase and 4,000 potential jobs for highly-skilled workers.

It is said that one of the reasons why Pengerang was chosen is because its waters can reach depths of more than 20 metres, which is what is needed for very large crude carriers and ultra large crude carriers.

According to reports, the Johor government will be a joint-venture partner of the project and will provide the land.

It is said that the Petronas Rapid project complements plans for the RM5bil independent deepwater petroleum terminal in Pengerang, which is to be the first deepwater terminal in South-East Asia.

Plans for Petronas to develop Johor’s Pengerang into a sizeable force in the oil and gas (O&G) space are not new.

Late last year, the Government said Petronas would play a major role in the development of Johor’s southeast areas of Teluk Ramunia and Pengerang into an O&G hub in the region.