GAS BOCOR PUNCA LETUPAN EMPIRE GALLERY

Menteri Perumahan dan Kerajaan Tempatan, Datuk Chor Chee Heung berkata, siasatan awal Jabatan Bomba dan Penyelamat mendapati letupan di Empire Gallery, Subang, dipercayai berpunca daripada kebocoran saluran gas sebuah restoran di aras bawah pusat membeli-belah itu.

”Laporan awal pihak bomba juga mengesahkan semua aspek keselamatan yang melibatkan kebombaan berfungsi dengan baik,” katanya pada sidang media di tempat kejadian dekat sini, Khamis.

Chor berkata, mungkin kebocoran telah lama berlaku dan bila berlaku percikan api, ia telah menyebabkan letupan.

Beliau berkata, saluran gas berpusat di semua bangunan di Malaysia terletak di bawah kawal selia Suruhanjaya Tenaga dan pihak suruhanjaya mengesahkan saluran gas berpusat di pusat membeli-belah itu dipasang oleh pihak pakar.

Mengikut undang-undang di Malaysia setiap bangunan yang dipasang dengan saluran gas berpusat perlu menghantar laporan untuk diaudit setiap dua tahun, katanya.

“Namun agak malang bagi Empire Gallery kerana baru hanya beroperasi selama satu tahun setengah, kebocoran yang mengakibatkan letupan pula berlaku,” katanya.

Chor berkata, Jabatan Bomba dan Penyelamat, polis dan Suruhanjaya Tenaga masih terus melakukan pemeriksaan intensif untuk memastikan kawasan berkenaan selamat sebelum orang awam dibenarkan masuk.

Sementara itu, Penolong Pengarah Operasi Bomba dan Penyelamat Selangor, Mohd Sani Harul berkata, operasi menyelamat ditamatkan malam tadi.

“Operasi menyelamat telah ditamatkan namun pihak bomba masih melakukan pemantauan seperti memberi bantuan kepada pihak polis dan anggota (bomba) akan terus diletakkan 24 jam di sekitar kawasan selagi bangunan tidak diserahkan kembali sepenuhnya kepada tuan punya bangunan,” katanya.

Beliau berkata, pemantauan pihak bomba mendapati tiada gas dikesan kerana pihak pengurusan bangunan telah menutup saluran utama.

Tinjauan Bernama di lokasi kejadian mendapati beberapa pemilik kedai mengambil barang-barang dari kedai masing-masing untuk dipindahkan ke tempat lain.

Pengurus Restoran Chili Grill and Bar, Markhalim Khalid berkata, dia dibenarkan masuk ke kedai untuk mengambil dokumen-dokumen penting syarikat.

“Selagi restoran tidak dapat dibuka pekerja-pekerja akan dipindahkan untuk bertugas di cawangan lain,” katanya.

Pada kejadian yang berlaku awal pagi Rabu itu, empat orang cedera akibat letupan berkenaan.

Sabah-Sarawak gas pipeline to also benefit rural people

The massive Sabah-Sarawak Gas Pipeline (SSGP) will create many positive economic spin-offs for the people of both states, including the rural communities, says a Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) academician who conducted a social impact study on the communities living within the vicinity of the pipeline.

Dr Shahren Ahmad Zaidi Adruce, Dean of the Cognitive Sciences and Human Development Faculty at UNIMAS, said the SSGP development would also create new economic activities in the rural areas.

Being built by Petronas at a cost of RM4.6 billion, the 512-km pipeline will transport gas from Kimanis in Sabah to the liquefied natural gas complex in Bintulu by end-2013.

Dr Shahren said its construction would mean that communities living along the pipeline would have more employment opportunities.

At the same time, the project would bring infrastructure amenities such as roads and telecommunications to these rural areas.

The spill-over effect of SSGP will be similar to the North-South Expressway in peninsular Malaysia in bringing economic growth, development in infrastructure and technology to enhance the people』s lives.

"Communities who live within a three-kilometre radius of the pipeline are those who will benefit most from this project.

"The project brings a lot of changes to the interior, especially in terms of infrastructure, to support the population』s basic needs and raise their standard of living," said Dr Shahren, who led the social impact research on communities living within the vicinity of the pipeline, stretching from Bintulu through Miri, Limbang and Lawas to Kimanis in Sabah.

The study, which commenced in 2007, had a sample size of 48 settlements and included focus-group interviews with the settlement』s population as well as non-governmental organisations.

Dr Shahren said some indigenous groups were at one time not supportive of the SSGP but later changed their mind when they "discovered that Petronas was not encroaching directly into some of the sensitive areas".

"Some of the areas in the pipeline project are very sacred to local communities. I am sure Petronas and the state government will look into this and solve the problem with the local communities.

"But, all in all, the local communities throughout the pipeline are giving positive support to this project," he said.

The SSGP is a part of the Petronas Sabah-Sarawak Integrated Oil and Gas Project to harness oil and gas resources in the offshore areas of Sabah and Sarawak.

Fire at Singapore refinery contained, says Shell

Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell plc today said it contained a fire at its worldwide largest refinery in Singapore and shut down neighboring units as a precaution.

The fire at the Pulau Bukom refinery, about five kilometres south-west from Singapore’s mainland, started yesterday afternoon and flared up again in the evening.

Some company firefighters suffered heat exhaustion and minor injuries, but “no one was seriously hurt,” Shell said in a statement.

All staff were accounted for and non-essential staff had been evacuated, it added.

Shell said the fire had been contained within an area of approximately 150m by 50m.

“We believe it was an accident,” the statement said.

The Bukom site is Shell’s largest refinery globally in terms of crude distillation capacity with 500,000 barrels per day, according to the company website.

It said 90 percent of Bukom’s products were exported to countries in the Asia Pacific region and beyond.

SapuraCrest Orders Two Pipe-Lay-Cum-Heavylift Offshore Construction Vessels

SapuraCrest Petroleum Bhd unit TL Offshore Sdn Bhd has issued two letters of award to Cosco Nantong Shipyard Co Ltd to build two ships costing a total US$227mil (RM714.4mil).

SapuraCrest said that Cosco was to build two pipe-lay -cum -heavylift offshore construction vessels.

It said the contract price for the first ship was US$116.75mil and the second was US$110.25mil. The delivery date was 28 months and 26 months, respectively.

“The acquisition will enable TL Offshore to capitalise on the positive outlook for the installation of pipelines and facilities segment of the oil and gas industry,” it said.

Petronas to buy 30% in GMR Energy Singapore

GMR has agreed to sell a 30% stake in GMR Energy (Singapore) Pte Ltd (GMRE) to Petronas International Corporation Ltd (PICL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Petronas, subject to approval of lenders. GMRE is developing an 800 MW Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) Power Plant on Jurong Island, Singapore.

The power generating facilities, featuring Siemens' latest F-class gas turbines, will be designed and constructed by a consortium consisting of Siemens and Samsung.

Fuelled by re-gassified LNG, the power plant is scheduled for commercial operations in 2013. GMR Supply Singapore Pte Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of GMRE, holding an electricity retail license in Singapore, will manage the electricity retail business.

Petronas is one of the largest groups in South East Asia with substantial resources in Oil and Gas. This relationship would pave the way for other possible opportunities between the groups in India as well as internationally. GM Rao, Group Chairman of GMR Group said “This relationship between GMR and Petronas opens up powerful synergy going forward for both the Groups.

It is symbolic of true South-South co operation and its immense potential in the energy market in the Region.”

Datuk Anuar Ahmad, Executive Vice President, Gas and Power Business of Petroleum Nasional Berhard said, "This acquisition marks Petronas Group's maiden foray into the international power market, and is a major step in its effort to extend its existing integrated presence further along the energy value chain."

Johor plants raises wire rope stakes

A new steel wire rope plant is taking shape for Kiswire on the Malaysian coast with the present and future needs of the offshore industry very much in mind.

Of the 130,000t of wire rope the company already produces annually, some 30,000t is currently employed offshore in diameters ranging from 50mm to 140mm for abandonment & recovery winches, cranes, hoists, mooring & anchoring equipment and other applications. With the inexorable move into deeper waters placing ever greater demands on the wire rope used in such applications, Kiswire has responded by building a brand new plant at Johor.

It is also implementing a dual operations strategy that will substantially increase its manufacturing capabilities over the next year or two. The new factory, called Neptune 2 (N2 for short) and representing a $100 million investment, is being built in two phases that Kiswire expects will comfortably establish it as the biggest and most advanced facility of its kind in the world.

Already installed, and expected to go into operation by November under phase one, is one of the largest closing machines ever built, capable of producing 6-strand rope in units up to 300t. ‘That is a huge closure, and quite a jump since our current capacity limit is 125t,' says Kiswire VP and Kiswire Europe managing director Bert de Ruijter.

With deepwater subsea applications setting the pace, phase two of the N2 plant's development will see the start up, about a year later, of multi-strand non-rotating wire rope production using another record-setting machine now at the design stage. This machine will be capable of producing multi-strand ropes in 600t units, the kind of duty being specified for a new generation of vessels targeting ultra-deepwater construction work.

‘That is the requirement in the market that we see for the next 10 to 20 years, and right now nobody can make it,' says Bert de Ruijter. ‘It's all subsea driven these days. We believe the new large machine for multi-strand rope, producing wire rope units so big they will require reels of around 10m by 10m, will cover just about anything that is required or being done in the offshore oil & gas industry.

With the buildings complete and its first-phase machinery installed, N2 is now well into its equipment trials and commissioning phase. The plant will design and produce a wide variety of rope types with features including zinc/ aluminium coating, plastic infill and special lubricants.

N2 is situated adjacent to the Asiaflex flexible pipe production facility inaugurated last November by Technip, which also employs Kiswire steel wires in the manufacture of its flexpipe. The two companies jointly funded and share the use of a new jetty at Johor for the loadout of their giant reels onto offshore barges.

Petronas charged with P1.058B smuggling complaint

MANILA, Philippines - An officer of mining, quarrying and oil firm Petronas Energy Philippines, Inc. and several customs brokers were charged with violations of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines before the Department of Justice(DOJ) on Thursday for alleged unlawful importation of various petroleum products with a total dutiable value of P1.058 billion.

This is the first smuggling case filed by the Bureau of Customs(BOC) under its new Commissioner Ruffy Biazon.

In a news conference at the DOJ this morning, Biazon listed the respondents in the case:
- Evelyn Taneo, chief financial officer of Petronas;
- Jerilee Conlu, customs broker;
- Carlos Barte, customs broker;
- Dennis Ayong, customs broker;
- Edgar Rey Gallana, Jr., customs broker; and
- several "John" and "Jane Does."

According to the complaint, Petronas made several importations of various petroleum products at the Port of Cebu, Port of Iloilo and Sub-port of Iligan covered by 51 import entries minus the required Load Port Survey.

"There being no Load Port Surveys, all the foregoing shipments that arrived at the aforestated ports are considered high-risk, should not have been released from the BOC and should have remained in customs custody," the complaint read.

Biazon said this was verified by the BOC's Run After the Smugglers(RATS) group.

Confirmation was also done through an audit/compliance report, he said.

Malaysia Marine bids for jobs worth RM6b

Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Bhd (MHB), an indirect subsidiary of Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), has submitted bids worth between RM5 and RM6 million, says chairman Datuk Nasarudin Md Idris.

"The bids are for engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning and construction projects in

the oil and gas industry, mostly in Malaysia," he told reporters after the company's annual general meeting here yesterday.

MHB was listed on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia in October last year.

"They are now at various stages of being finalised. We have to replenish our order book and we are looking for more projects," he added.

Nasarudin said the company's order book currently stood at about RM3.1 billion, which would last until 2013.

It is derived from upstream projects ranging from the central processing platform to the floating production system for both domestic and international markets.

On the fabrication yard project in Brunei, Nasarudin said "it was still in the preliminary stage."

He said Petronas was in discussions for the setting up of petrochemical facilities in Brunei.

"The project is still in its infancy and we have yet to discuss with Petronas," he added.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had said earlier that MHB would develop a fabrication yard in Brunei, but declined to mention how extensive the investment would be.

Nasarudin also said MHB's projection for capital expenditure depended on its yard optimisation programme and some RM2.7 billion has been allocated for the purpose.

"A total of RM700 million has been utilised and the remaining RM2 billion is for over the period until 2014," he added.

He added that upon completion of MHB's acquisition of Sime Darby Engineering's Pasir Gudang yard in Johor, the company's yard space would increase from 148.8ha to 195.2ha, while the capacity would rise to about 130 tonnes per year from about 70 tonnes per year currently.

"With the acquisition, we will be able to pitch for more projects to increase our margin and profitability," he added.

Nasarudin expects good performance for the current financial year.

"We hope it will be better. This year, we have nine months only because of the change in financial year to December 31 2011 instead of March 31 2012. We have a few months more to go," he said.

MHB turned in a pre-tax profit of RM424 million on a turnover of RM4.43 billion for its financial year ended March 31 2011. - Bernama

Lundin Petroleum Completes Third Well, Offshore Peninsular Malaysia

Lundin Petroleum AB (Lundin Petroleum) has completed the Batu Hitam exploration well located in Block PM308A, offshore the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

The Batu Hitam-1 well tested the hydrocarbon potential of a large basement high structure located in the east of the PM308A block. The objectives of the well were Oligocene sandstones in a four-way dip closure and fractured pre-Tertiary basement in the underlying horst block.

The well found the target Oligocene sandstones to be present with good reservoir quality containing gas with high concentrations of carbon dioxide. The well was plugged and abandoned as a dry hole.

The Offshore Courageous rig will now move to drill the Janglau-1 prospect located 47 km north of Batu Hitam-1. Janglau-1 will test a new play concept in an independent sub-basin in the same block.

Lundin Petroleum operates and holds 35 percent interest in PM308A through its subsidiary Lundin Malaysia BV. Partners in PM308A are JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration (Peninsular Malaysia) Limited with 40 percent interest and PETRONAS Carigali Sdn. Bhd. with 25 percent.

Lundin Malaysia BV operates 6 Blocks in Malaysia, namely PM308A, PM308B, PM307, SB303, SB307 and SB308.

Malaysia Expansion Sets the Stage for ‘Greater Singapore’ Oil Hub

An unprecedented expansion of oil infrastructure in southern Malaysia over the next five years is set to create a “Greater Singapore” trading hub that will help the region retain its edge over competitors such as China.

Instead of competing with Singapore, the new infrastructure — including a state-of-the-art petroleum complex and capacity increases to storage — will lead to greater flows of oil and help meet growing demand from traders for more liquidity to feed increasing pricing activity.

“The new infrastructure should be regarded as part of the ‘Greater Singapore’ oil hub, rather than as competing with the current established order, as it is essentially the same players trading the same markets but in a larger way,” said Richard Yap of GE Consulting.

Singapore is the largest oil trading hub in Asia and the third-largest in the world, where traders regularly engage in pricing activities by taking speculative trading positions to optimize profits. It is also the world’s No. 1 bunkering port.

In the longer term, players see the region becoming an oil trading center similar to the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) hub in Europe, expanding its boundaries southwards into neighboring Indonesia and northwards deeper into Malaysian territory.

The ARA region is the main gateway for oil flows into Europe, particularly for distillates and fuel oil, which are stored and blended before being redistributed inland. It is also the world’s second-largest bunkering port after Singapore.

“Malaysia is well-placed to complement Singapore in this industry. Together, Malaysia and Singapore could operate to form a hub like Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp, which complement each other in areas of refining capacity, independent storage and blending capacity as well as access to markets,” said Malaysian think tank Pemandu.

Malaysia has not seen this kind of expansion before in terms of scale and size. This territorial expansion could occur from as early as the next month, as dredging works along the shallow waterway separating mainland Malaysia from Singapore to accommodate new structures force the displacement of about 2 million metric tons of oil stored on seven floating storages off Pasir Gudang in southern Malaysia.

The alternative locations for these vessels could be in Indonesian waters off the islands of Karimun and Nipah, or further north in Malaysian waters, extending the boundaries of “Greater Singapore,” traders said.