KUCHING, Oct 4: Petronas Global Technical Solutions Sdn Bhd (PGTSSB) has entered into an agreement with Sarawak Petchem Sdn Bhd (Sarawak Petchem) to provide advisory and technical support services for Sarawak’s first mega methanol plant.
PGTSSB is a subsidiary of Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) offering technical services to the oil and gas sector.
Petronas in a press statement today said the agreement covers advisory on technical services, procurement and turnaround, as well as critical operations and maintenance support for the landmark Sarawak Methanol Project throughout its project execution and operation stages.
It demonstrates Petronas’ commitment towards supporting Sarawak Petchem in delivering the mega project, in line with the latter’s “One Team One Goal One Spirit, Building Legacy” aspiration.
The national oil corporation added the agreement also marked another milestone in the long-standing collaboration between Petronas and the State government in Sarawak’s pursuit of growth, specifically in the downstream petrochemical sector.
In 2018, Petronas Chemicals Marketing (Labuan) Ltd, the marketing entity of Petronas Chemicals Group Berhad (Petronas Chemicals) became Sarawak Petchem’s partner to market methanol products for the project.
Meanwhile, PGTSSB board chairman Noor Ilias Mohd Idris and Sarawak Petchem director-in-charge Dr Muhammad Abdullah Zaidel exchanged the signed agreement documents at the Waterfront Hotel on October 1.
Noor Ilias said, “Petronas is honoured to be the preferred energy and solutions partner of Sarawak Petchem in supporting the successful delivery of this historic project for Sarawak’s oil and gas venture into the petrochemical sector.
“We are committed to help facilitate Sarawak’s vision for their first mega methanol plant with our best-in-class technical and project delivery expertise.
“PGTSSB’s local experts are of multiple technical disciplines with rich experience in similar projects in Malaysia, and they are able to contribute towards ensuring a sustainable pipeline of technical talents in Sarawak Petchem through knowledge transfer,” he said.
Currently, Institut Teknologi Petroleum Petronas (Instep), a Petronas wholly-owned technical training provider is providing curated technical training to Sarawak Petchem staff in the areas of operations, maintenance and health, safety and environment.
The first batch of trainees have begun their technical training at Instep in August via Virtual Instructor-Led Training.
On the other hand, Sarawak Petchem, established in June 2017 will be the first company in the State that produces methanol, with an annual capacity of 1.7 million metric tonnes per annum (mtpa).
Its plant in Bintulu is currently under construction. — DayakDaily
