By Shikin Louis
KUCHING, Nov 21: Natural gas which contains mostly methane gas is a ‘dirtier’ energy source than previously thought, says Padungan assemblyman Chong Chieng Jen.
Citing a National Geographic article dated Feb 20, 2023, Chong said natural gas is as bad, if not worse, than other fossil fuels as a source of energy for the State and gas industry.
“Although we don’t see it and we don’t smell it, but methane molecules in the air are 90 times more effective in trapping heat than carbon dioxide molecule. Thus, it’s actually worse.
“So why are we selling clean energy to Singapore but we are using dirty energy (domestically)? It doesn’t make sense,” he said at a press conference after debating against the proposed Distribution of Gas (Amendment) Bill 2023 in the Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting here today.
Chong further described the Bill’s provision with regards to the appointment of Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (Petros) as the gas aggregator, as redundant and unnecessary.
“Petros is the overall company in Sarawak set up to manage all gas, petroleum, upstream and downstream activities, so why do you need a gas aggregator to manage gas distribution, management and planning?
“By tabling such Ordinance purporting to create the position of a gas aggregator, is the State government’s other way to say that Petros has failed in their duty in the overall development of gas industry in Sarawak,” he added. — DayakDaily
