Petronas is talking to 10 potential investors and companies involved in the oil and gas related activities to set up their operations at its refinery and petrochemicals integrated development (Rapid) project.
Rapid executive project director Wan Yusoff Wan Hamat said they came from all over the world and had shown strong interest to invest in the complex in Pengerang, Johor.
“We can't reveal their names right now because the talks are still ongoing,'' he said at media briefing on Rapid yesterday.
The RM60bil complex is located in the southeast Johor and the proposed 300,000 barrels per day crude oil refinery capacity is larger than the combined capacities of Petronas' existing refineries in Malacca, Kertih and Gebeng.
Wan Yusoff said it was vital to attract world-class, oil, gas and petrochemical companies to invest in the project as they would contribute to the country's aspiration to become a high-income nation by 2020.
“Although we will undertake the development of the project, these investors are the ones that will churn out their products from the complex,” he said.
There were several options for the investors to invest in the complex by setting up their own operations or through joint-venture with Petronas.
He said construction of the complex on a 2,428.11ha would start in mid-2013 and by 2016, it was expected to have 60 plants with 4,000 permanent workers.
“We want to optimise the cost by adding synergistic to our operations and to be able to market the products in the region,” he said on the purpose of developing Rapid.
Rapid's close proximity with Singapore could create potential collaboration in term of logistics and products disposal, Wan Yusoff said adding that being close to the sources of demand, particularly Indonesia, was an added advantage
