Malaysia: Plans for RM4.08b LNG terminal at Pengerang

Dialog, Vopak plans RM4.08b terminal
Business Times (Malaysia) 14 Sep 12;

A consortium, comprising Dialog Group Bhd, Royal Vopak and the Johor state government, will invest RM4.08 billion to build the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Pengerang, Johor.

The LNG terminal is one of the seven projects announced today by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP).

Dialog executive chairman, Ngau Boon Keat, said the project was at the planning stage and a final investment decision would be made next June.

"After all the partners have agreed, we will start the project," he told reporters after the progress update of the ETP here today.

It is an LNG storage, loading and regasification terminal to import LNG for trading purposes and for domestic use.

The LNG terminal, the first independent terminal in Asia, will allow multiple LNG users to store and trade in the product.

"This will spur the growth of the industry and help establish Malaysia as Asia’s LNG trading hub.

"The terminal can accommodate the biggest oil tankers in the world and there is no other port in South-East Asia with the longest shipping lane," he said.

Dialog has previously built a RM5 billion Pengerang deepwater petroleum terminal, and with the LNG terminal in the pipeline, it will bring its total investment in Pengerang up to RM10 billion over the next 10 years.

He said the Johor government would have 10 per cent stake, Dialog (51 per cent) and Royal Vopak (49 per cent).

On compensation, Ngau said, it would be handled by the state government.

"When we acquired the land, the state determined the price for the land according to the market value.

"For the fishermen, before we go into (the project), we engaged with the state Fishery Department, and from there, we pay some RM30,000 to the licensed fishermen while those unlicensed fishermen we pay RM15,000.

"We pay everybody based on the state's decisions and valuation," he said. -- Bernama

RM10b for LNG project
New Straits Times 14 Sep 12;

JOINT DEVELOPMENT: Independent trading terminal in Johor to spur industry's growth

PUTRAJAYA: DIALOG Group Bhd, an integrated oil and gas service provider, expects to invest up to RM10 billion to develop an independent oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Pengerang, Johor.

Its executive chairman, Ngau Boon Keat, said the terminal and storage facilities would be built on an 200ha site in Pengerang.

"We are proposing the project in this area as we feel that it is strategically located and the proposed site is near Singapore," he said after the unveiling of seven more entry point projects (EPPs) by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak here yesterday.

Dialog Group's RM4.08 billion LNG terminal is one of the seven EPPs to be developed under the government's Economic Transformation Programme.

Under the proposed project, a consortium, comprising Dialog Group, the Johor government and Royal Vopak, will jointly develop an LNG storage, loading and regasification terminal to import LNG for trading purposes as well as for domestic consumption.

Ngau said the terminal would be the first independent LNG trading terminal in Asia, which would allow multiple LNG users to store and trade the product to spur the industry's growth and establish Malaysia as an LNG trading hub in the region.

He also said the terminal would consist of two phases -- Phase 1 would be built between next year and 2016, and Phase 2 between next year and 2018.

He said the project was expected to contribute RM557 million to the country's gross national income and create some 100 new jobs up to 2020.

On protests by villagers and non-governmental organisations towards the project in Pengerang, Ngau said they should ask themselves why there were already such facilities, including refineries, in other places and parts of the world.

"Why was there no protest when we built refineries in Port Dickson or petrochemical plants in Kerteh? In fact, some of these facilities have been running since the 1960s.

"Why the fuss now? We are investing to help the economy grow and provide jobs for the locals."

Malaysia building LNG terminal in Johor
$1.6b facility, seen as future rival to Jurong Island, among 7 projects unveiled
Teo Cheng Wee Straits Times 14 Sep 12;

PUTRAJAYA - Malaysia is adding a RM4 billion (S$1.6 billion) liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in south-east Johor, bolstering the capacity of an oil and gas hub that has been touted as a potential competitor to Singapore's Jurong Island.

The LNG terminal in Pengerang comes on top of a RM5 billion petroleum storage terminal already under construction, the first phase of which is expected to be completed by 2014.

The Johor state government and oil and gas companies, Dialog Group from Malaysia and Royal Vopak from the Netherlands, are partners in the project.

They form part of the larger Pengerang Integrated Petroleum Complex, which includes a refinery by national oil company Petronas.

Malaysia envisions Pengerang as a top regional oil and gas hub, to drive growth in what it has singled out as a key sector for the country.

Analysts have noted that Pengerang - once a sleepy fishing village about 90 minutes from Johor Baru - has real potential because of its strategic location, deepwater jetty facilities and abundant land. It is, however, likely to be years away from posing real competition to Singapore.

The LNG project was one of seven announced yesterday by Prime Minister Najib Razak under his Economic Transformation Programme, with investments totalling RM5.6 billion.

He said they would boost Malaysia's gross national income by RM2.36 billion and create more than 18,000 jobs by 2020.

Pengerang's terminal will be used for the storage, loading and regasification of LNG, both for trading and for domestic use.

Said Datuk Seri Najib: "This will be the first independent LNG trading terminal in Asia, allowing multiple LNG users to store and trade the product. It will spur the growth of the industry and help establish Malaysia as Asia's LNG trading hub."

Dialog Group executive chairman Ngau Boon Keat said the terminal, which will be built on 60ha of land, could also be used as reserve storage for the country's energy supply. Construction could begin as early as next year, pending final agreement on funding and returns among the partners.

The terminals will be built in two phases up till 2018. It will eventually have 720,000 cubic m of storage capacity, with regasification facilities.

Another project announced by Mr Najib was a pharmaceuticals manufacturing plant by Ranbaxy Laboratories, a major Indian pharmaceutical company. Ranbaxy, in a joint venture with local partners, will invest RM125 million in a new plant at an as-yet-undisclosed site in Malaysia, which will become one of the company's eight global manufacturing hubs for generic drugs.

The project, which will commence this month, is expected to triple Malaysia's output of generic drugs from one billion to three billion units.

Mr Najib's economic reforms are targeted at helping Malaysia become a high-income nation by 2020. But yesterday, he singled out data from the World Economic Forum last week that showed that Malaysia had dropped four places in the Global Competitiveness Index, and urged his countrymen to do better.

"If other countries improve, we need to work harder. If they walk, we have to run. If they run, we have to accelerate," he said. "There is no place for us to be complacent."

Dialog-led consortium expands its investment to include the LNG facility in Pengerang
Daniel Khoo The Star 15 Sep 12;

PUTRAJAYA: A consortium of companies led by Dialog Group Bhd, the Netherlands-based Royal Vopak and the Johor Government will expand it investment in Pengerang to include the Pengerang Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) Terminal project costing RM4.08bil.

The terminal is an LNG storage, loading and regasification facility to import LNG for trading purposes and for domestic use.

A press handout by Dialog said the terminal, which would allow multiple LNG users to store and trade their products, would be developed in two phases over 10 years.

Phase 1 consists of an independent terminal with two tanks and Phase 2 is a dedicated terminal with two tanks. All tanks will have a 360,000 cu m storage capacity with regasification facilities.

Dialog executive chairman Ngau Boon Keat said the ownership structure of the Pengerang LNG Terminal would be the same as announced previously for the consortium's independent deepwater petroleum terminal in Pengerang.

The Dialog-Royal Vopak joint venture holds 90% stake in the independent deepwater petroleum terminal while the balance 10% is held by the Johor Government.

Speaking at a briefing organised by the government's Performance Management and Delivery Unit, Ngau said the LNG terminal would be located right next to the deepwater petroleum terminal.

“The earlier one is oil while this one is LNG. Both will be located on land size of 500 acres.”

He said funding details for the project would be announced by the consortium later as the focus now was to prepare for the foundation works.

“Reclaimation for the LNG terminal site has started but for the physical works (to start), we will have to wait for the co-findings of an environmental decision, which will be made by the middle of next year.

“The (first part) has started but for the second part such as financing details and securing customers will be completed by the middle of next year as well,” he added.

Pemandu chief executive officer Datuk Seri Idris Jala said the Government was expected to announce more National Key Economic Area projects in November.