Petronas-Saudi RAPID refinery begins trials on crude oil unit: sources

Malaysian state oil company Petronas started trial runs at the crude distillation unit (CDU) for a joint-venture refinery with Saudi Aramco in Malaysia, two sources with knowledge of the matter said.

The move marks a major milestone for the $2.7 billion project known as RAPID - or Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development - located in Pengerang in Johor, at the southern tip of peninsular Malaysia. The test runs put the project on track for commercial operation in 2019.

The company also received its second cargo of 2 million barrels of Saudi crude last week, according to the sources and data on Refinitiv Eikon.

Petronas could not be immediately reached for comment.

RAPID consists of a 300,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) refinery and secondary refining units that will allow the companies to produce refined oil products that meet Euro 5 fuel specifications. The refinery is linked to a petrochemical complex with a capacity of 7.7 million tonnes a year.

The first crude oil cargo for RAPID was offloaded at Pengerang in September.

The refinery is one of four new complexes in Asia that represent a combined processing capacity of nearly 1.3 million bpd scheduled to start up from late 2018 to 2019.

Another of the four complexes, a 400,000-bpd refinery, owned by Hengli Petrochemical in Dalian in northeast China, started trial runs in December.

These plants will increase Asia's crude demand while adding to fuel output in the region.

Pertamina tanker slams into side of pipelay vessel anchored off Bintan

Hong Kong flagged 2002-built product tanker Antea has t-boned 2012-built pipelay vessel Star Centurion east of the Singapore Strait entrance around 10NM north of Bintan Island yesterday morning.

The pipelay vessel had a hole punctured in its side from the accident, causing it to severely list.

Worth a little under $100m, the Star Centurion has been anchored in the position of the accident since January 7 according to Marinetraffic AIS data. The outer port limits of Singapore are a popular destinations for ships to anchor in order to save on port dues.

Formerly named Lewek Centurion, Star Centurion was previously owned by Singapore's Ezra Holdings although Splash understands DBS Bank repossessed the vessel some time back and it is being managed for the bank by Vallianz Offshore Marine.

The tanker, owned by Indonesia's Pertamina and managed by Bernhard Schulte Ship management according to Equasis, was leaving Singapore headed for Ambon, Indonesia when the accident occurred.

Bernhard Schulte Ship management said in a statement sent to Splash it has launched a full emergency response in the wake of the accident. The crew of both vessels have been accounted for and there are no injuries to any seafarers. No pollution has been reported, the ship manager said.

Source : Pertamina tanker slams into side of pipelay vessel anchored off Bintan -

Pertamina tanker slams into side of pipelay vessel anchored off Bintan - Hong Kong flagged 2002-built product tanker has t-boned 2012-built pipelay vessel Star Centurion east of the Sin...

CCID chief confirms raid at HRDF HQ

Bukit Aman Commercial Crimes Investigation Department (CCID) acting director Datuk Saiful Azly Kamaruddin said police today raided the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) over allegations of misappropriations of funds.

He said commercial crimes investigators from the Brickfields police headquarters had gone to the HRDF main office in Damansara Heights to conduct investigations related to an ongoing probe on misappropriation of funds, fraud and other malpractices.

"Investigators from Brickfields CCID had been sent to HRDF following instructions from the Federal Commercial Crime Investigation Department.

"Investigations are mainly related to misappropriation of funds," he told Malay Mail when contacted.

It is still unclear if investigators seized any documents and computers from the HRDF office.

Investigators had also prior to today's raid interviewed several HRDF staff members in relation to the investigations.

On Wednesday, The Star reported that HRDF allegedly bought property in Bangsar South here without its board or investment panel's knowledge in a 2015 purchase involving hundreds of millions of ringgit.

The HRDF apparently purchased the six floor property at a price of RM154 million including Goods and Services Tax (GST) although the board's approval was for the government agency to buy another building in the same location a pre-GST price of RM141 million.

A source told the local daily that the board was also informed that the minister (at that time) approved the change of the property to be acquired.

In November, Human Resources Minister M. Kulasegaran said high-ranking staff of HRDF misappropriated around RM100 million of the RM300 million in the fund.

He also highlighted several wrongdoings, such as abuse of duties, criminal breach of trust and the acting beyond prescribed procedure without reporting to the board of directors.

Kulasegaran also set up a five-member independent governance oversight committee (GOC) to review and probe the allegations.

Sapura Energy proposes financial assistance up to RM2.3b

Sapura Energy Bhd intends to obtain financing facilities from local and/or foreign financial institution(s) and/or OMV Exploration & Production GMBH, or another entity within the OMV AG group, for an aggregate amount of up to US$550 million (RM2.29 billion), but not less than US$350 million.

Sapura Energy said the group may also be required to provide corporate guarantees, undertakings and/or securities for 50% of the financing facilities to be obtained by the SEB Upstream Sdn Bhd, a joint-venture company incorporated to hold the entire stake in Sapura Upstream Sdn Bhd.

SEB Upstream will use the proceeds from the financing facilities of US$350 million to partially repay the amount owed by Sapura Upstream to Sapura Energy Group (excluding management fees for the three-month period prior to the closing and amounts relating to the provision of oil and gas services provided by Sapura Energy) amounting to US$890 million as set out in the subscription agreement; and the remaining, if any, for the working capital of SEB Upstream.

The proposed financial assistance is to be undertaken after the completion of the proposed strategic partnership between Sapura Energy and OMV through SEB Upstream which is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2019

Tugboat repair leaves 2 dead in Sarawak

Two shipyard workers died in Sibu while five others were found unconscious after they were exposed to poisonous gas while repairing a tugboat.

The dead, according to State Fire and Rescue Department, were identified as Aktar and Maznu, both from Bangladesh.

Another Bangladeshi and four Indonesians who were lifted up by firemen from inside the hull of the tugboat were unconscious.

They have been admitted to the hospital for treatment.

All of the seven workers had gone down to the hull of the tugboat to do repair works.

However, they were exposed to shielding gas used for welding work.

They were lifted out of the boat by firemen using ropes and given immediate treatment by paramedics.

Two of them were pronounced dead.

MMHE secures fixed offshore structure contract from Petronas

Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Bhd (MMHE) has bagged a frame work agreement from Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) for the provision of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of fixed offshore structure works.

In a statement today, MMHE said the frame agreement, which was secured by its wholly-owned subsidiary Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Sdn Bhd, consists of two packages, namely fixed offshore structures of weight exceeding 7,500MT (Package A) and fixed offshore structures of weight not exceeding or equal to 7,500MT (Package B).

The agreement, valid for six years for both packages, is on a mini bidding basis, applicable to projects being managed under Petronas' Petroleum Agreement Contractors and covers all oil and gas blocks within Malaysia, said MHB.

"We are honoured to be chosen to continue supporting Petronas' offshore initiatives. This award is a reflection of continued trust in our ability to execute projects and to deliver the desired results. Our aim is to deliver all projects efficiently, without compromising on safety and quality," said its managing director and chief executive officer Wan Mashitah Wan Abdullah Sani.

Sapura Energy secures contracts worth RM760 mil

Sapura Energy Berhad has been awarded contracts worth RM760 million for drilling, engineering and construction projects, including one in the waters of Angola.

The company said the contract in the Southern African nation was awarded by Cabinda Gulf Oil Company Limited, a subsidiary of Chevron Corporation, for the provision of its semi-submersible tender assisted drilling rig.

"The project entails using a first of its kind technical solution to improve efficiency for the drilling campaign," it said in a statement tonight.

"The latest achievements have lifted the value of contract wins to RM9.3 billion for its current financial year.

Saudi-backed Johor refinery set to change fuel landscape

As China sends a flood of fuel abroad, a giant project in Southeast Asia that’s backed by Saudi Arabia is set to add to the regional deluge.

State-run Saudi Arabian Oil Co is helping finance a US$27 billion (RM107 billion) refinery and a petrochemical complex in Johor. The project, known as Refinery and Petrochemicals Integrated Development, or Rapid, will add a new stream of fuels near Asia’s main oil trading hub of Singapore at a time when China continues to unleash record amounts of diesel and gasoline onto the global market.

“The immediate impact from Rapid will lead to more Malaysian exports of diesel and jet fuel, while also reducing the need to import as much gasoline,” said Joe Willis, a senior research analyst for refining and oil products at Wood Mackenzie Ltd in Singapore.

“For middle distillates, Johor is conveniently located next to the Singapore storage hub.”

Puncak Niaga sells DLB 264 for RM12.8m

Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd is disposing of a 52-year-old idle vessel and open yard items owned by its wholly-owned sub-subsidiary for US$3.31 million (RM12.78 million).

The disposal, to Singapore-based ship trading company SOMAP International Pte Ltd, would allow Puncak Niaga to focus on its existing core businesses, the group said in a filing.

The businesses include water and wastewater, sewage, environmental engineering and construction, as well as oil palm plantation.

The pipe lay barge DLB264 was built by NV Rotterdamsche Drydock, Netherlands in 1966 for American Bureau of Shipping. It is presently registered under the Malaysian flag, with Puncak Niaga’s sub-subsidiary KGL Ltd as its owner.

KGL’s principal activity is in the offshore leasing of the vessel on a time-charter basis. However, the vessel has remained unutilised for several years, due to the downturn in the oil and gas industry.

Petronas plans to upgrade Kerteh refinery by 2022

Petronas plans to upgrade its refinery in Kerteh, Terengganu, by 2022 to produce higher quality fuels and expand the crude types it processes beyond Tapis, a company executive said.

Production of light sweet Tapis crude, once Malaysia’s flagship grade, is declining, so the Kerteh refinery is looking to switch to other grades such as medium-sweet Kimanis, Petronas Penapisan (Terengganu) Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Zabidi Ahmad said at a Platts conference this week.

“We’re also looking at processing different condensate, probably (Australia’s) North West Shelf or (Iran’s) South Pars or Qatar’s DFC (deodorized field condensate),” he said.

The Kerteh upgrade, which could be completed by 2022, will allow the refinery to produce fuels that meet Euro V standard specifications, although the refinery’s capacity will remain unchanged, he said.

The refinery’s primary units are a crude distillation unit and a condensate splitter.