Business

Wednesday March 13, 2013

Petronas expected to award US$2b job to Japan’s JGC Corp soon

By YVONNE TAN
yvonne@thestar.com.my


The project will increase the flexibility of Petronas’ LNG portfolio while supporting the overall growth of the region’s natural gas industry. – AFP The project will increase the flexibility of Petronas’ LNG portfolio while supporting the overall growth of the region’s natural gas industry. – AFP

PETALING JAYA: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) is reportedly within days of awarding an engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) contract, estimated to be worth up to US$2bil (RM6.2bil) to Japanese EPC giant, JGC Corp.

The contract is for its liquefied natural gas (LNG) Train 9 Project at its LNG Complex in Bintulu, Sarawak.

International oil and gas newspaper Upstream reported this on its website yesterday noting that the Japanese engineering giant was responsible for the EPCC of eight earlier LNG trains at the Bintulu complex.

In February last year, Petronas awarded a contract for the front-end engineering design (Feed) of the new production train at its LNG complex to JGC Corp and a Japanese-Italian partnership comprising Chiyoda Corp and Saipem S.p.A.

It was reported that the job, which was awarded under a dual-Feed scheme, would see the two contractors compete in the design and in the EPCC price proposal process.

Petronas would then award one of the contractors with the EPCC contract for the Petronas LNG Train 9 project.

The LNG Train 9 project will add 3.6 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to the Bintulu complex's existing 24 mtpa capacity.

The project is expected to increase the flexibility of Petronas' LNG portfolio while supporting the overall growth of the region's natural gas industry, analysts had said.

A final investment decision on it is expected soon while the operational start-up of the LNG Train 9 is targeted for the fourth quarter of 2015.

Upon completion, the LNG Train 9 project is expected to include gas receiving facilities and units comprising acid gas removal, dehydration and mercury removal, fractionation and liquefaction and LNG rundown units.

Experts are expecting Asia-Pacific's oil and gas spending to increase to up to US$51bil in 2015 from US$36bil last year with a compounded annual growth rate of 9%, driven largely by deep-water exploration, LNG and enhanced oil recovery. Of the spend, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam are expected to contribute 70% from 2012 to 2015.

At an event, GE Energy president for Asia-Pacific Kenji Uenishi said demand for gas in the region was expected to grow as countries such as Japan were increasingly uncertain about nuclear power.

GE Oil & Gas last year secured a contract worth US$150mil to supply technology for the expansion of the LNG Train 9 project.

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