Sabah gas supply set to nearly double by 2030

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah's gas supply is set to nearly double from 700 million standard cubic feet per day to 1,350 million standard cubic feet per day by 2030.

Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said the increase would be driven by seven offshore development projects involving two international and four Malaysian oil companies over the next four years.

The projects, which include four new gas fields, are aimed at meeting industrial demand, among other needs.

Hajiji said the progress demonstrated close collaboration between Sabah and Petronas to support the continued development of the state's oil and gas resources.

"The strategy provides a clear delivery plan to secure the gas supply required to support Sabah's industrialisation ambitions," he said after witnessing the handover of reports from SMJ Energy and Petronas to State Secretary Datuk Zainudin Aman at a hotel here.

The Long-Term Gas Supply and Delivery Plan 2025 and the Sabah East Coast Gas Development Plan outlined the delivery strategy following studies by the Sabah Gas Strategy Joint Taskforce, a collaboration between state agencies led by SMJ Energy and Petronas.

The plan also includes new manufacturing investments along the West Coast corridor, stretching from Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park through the Sabah Oil and Gas Terminal in Kimanis and the Sabah Oil and Gas Industrial Park in Sipitang to the Labuan gas terminals.

The Sabah East Coast Gas Development Plan said the Mutiara cluster of gas fields offshore Sandakan could be developed to supply a new gas-fired power plant at the Sawit Kinabalu Sandakan Industrial Park and convert Sabah Electricity's Batu Sapi station from diesel to gas-fired turbines.

For the first time, the East Coast would generate its own gas-fired power rather than depend on transmission from the West Coast.

Also present were Deputy Chief Minister II and Finance Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun, who is also SMJ Energy chairman, and SMJ Energy Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice-President Datuk Albert Lo.