S’wak to have own integrated supply base for O&G — CM

Sarawak’s very own integrated supply base to cater for the needs of the oil and gas industry offshore East Malaysia will be established at the Second Inner Harbour of Bintulu Port and is expected to start commercial operations by the fourth quarter of 2019.

yesterday witnessed the signing of the land lease agreement between Bintulu Port Authority (BPA) and Bintulu Supply Base Sdn Bhd (BSB) for the development of the supply base at a leading hotel here yesterday.

BPA was represented by its chairman Hadzari Abang and general manager Zulkurnain Ayub while BSB by its chairman Ahmadi Yusoff and director Datuk Ahmad Redza Abdullah.

This new integrated supply base, Abang Johari noted, will become a one-stop centralised logistic support centre to service the needs of oil and gas exploration, development and production activities in offshore areas of Sarawak.

“This is the first time Sarawak has its own supply base despite the fact that we have been producing oil since 1910. There are three existing supply bases in Malaysia, with two located in Peninsular Malaysia and one in Labuan,” he told a press conference.

“This development will provide a strong platform for a more effective and efficient logistical service for the upstream activities undertaken by the oil and gas companies in the Continental Shelf off the coasts of Sarawak where valuable petroleum and natural gas resources are located,” he said.

The supply base, he added, is one of the very significant developments to the state’s oil and gas inclusion strategy.

“I am confident this new facility dedicated for the oil and gas industry will result in the growth of this sector and bring economic benefits to the people and contribute substantially towards the economic growth of the state,” he emphasised.

More importantly, Abang Johari pointed out, there is potential of growth in the hydrocarbon industry in Sarawak because many fields which have been discovered have not been exploited yet.

“Therefore, this supply base will become the platform for Sarawak companies to provide the services to the oil and gas industry operating in Sarawak, especially in our waters. I am confident this will benefit the oil and gas industry,” he said.

Seeing that there were signs of recovery along the oil and gas value chain for Malaysian offshore activities this year, Abang Johari thus called on Sarawak-based oil and gas service providers to capitalise on this positive trend.

“At this nascent stage of oil and gas recovery, I think that Sarawak oil and gas players with exposure to exploration and development activities offer the greatest operational leverage when capex cycle improves,” he said.

“Overall, I expect local project flows to still remain challenging except for a few players like the marine vessels, offshore installations and fabrication sector of the industry,” he shared.

While Sarawak is very rich in oil and gas resources and given the pressing need for the state to be developed alongside other states in Malaysia, he highlighted that the Barisan Nasional (BN) government believes that equitable participation of the state in the oil and gas sector will play an important role in the state’s economic expansion.

“Associated with this will be numerous economic spin-offs, benefiting the state’s economy as a whole. In this connection, I will zealously safeguard and assert our state’s mining rights over our oil and gas resources, both onshore and off-shore, in accordance with the Federal Constitution, the supreme law of our nation,” he reiterated.

“It is a matter of paramount importance that Sarawak must secure the optimal economic benefits from our natural resources to enable the state to have adequate financial means to fund our accelerated development towards digital economy,” he said.

Towards the realisation of this objective, he added that regulating both upstream and downstream of oil and gas production as well as gas distribution in Sarawak was crucial to the state’s plan to expand the state’s economy and enhance the level of participation by Sarawakians and Sarawak companies in the oil and gas industry.

“I welcome such investment initiatives by the private sector and towards complementing the state government’s drive to transform our state’s economy in order to leap frog to new heights of sustained economic growth and prosperity,” he said.

Earlier, Hadzari shared that the setting of a local supply base in Sarawak is timely as the infrastructure will support the growth of Sarawak’s oil and gas industry.

“The added facilities to Bintulu Port will have a positive impact on the local economy through growth in supporting businesses, greater capacity building in terms of job opportunities and increased skilled labour in oil and gas,” he added.

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Source : The Borneo Post Online by  Karen Bong

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