Value-added oil and gas strategy in the spotlight

摘要

THE proposed Sarawak Petrochemical Hub in Malaysia is expected to create more than 70,000 new jobs when fully operational and could potentially add as much as 20 billion ringgit ($4.68 billion) annually to the state government's gross domestic product, according to Sarawak Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg. "The state government intends to transform Bintulu from the current world-renowned liquefied natural gas producer to a petrochemical hub with a future downstream value-added integrated petrochemical complex," he says. Bintulu is considered ideal, as it has ready access to feedstock gas from both offshore fields and via the Sabah-Sarawak gas pipeline. Also, Bintulu has an existing deep-water port and good road infrastructure, while a new port is under construction in nearby Samalaju.