By Ashley Sim
KUCHING, June 22: In the next seven to eight years, the Sarawak government will connect natural gas pipelines to every home, says Deputy Minister for Energy and Environmental Sustainability Dr Hazland Abang Hipni.
Dr Hazland stated this today during a press conference at the two-day Sarawak Oil and Gas Services and Equipment (OGSE) Roadshow 2022 held at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) here.
“We are going to have four big plants, in Miri, Kuching, Bintulu, and Sibu under Petros for piped gas.
“In line with sustainability, Petros will focus more on natural gas by connecting pipelines to houses for cooking,” he said.
He went on to say Sarawak will be providing that service to all houses in the next seven to eight years.
“It is not expensive, and currently the price of gas cylinders is around RM28.
“Even though the standard is RM28, but for somebody is in Baram or Kapit or somewhere else, the price could be three to four times more.
“The problem is with transportation, therefore with piped gas, nobody can increase the price,” he added.
Furthermore, Dr Hazland mentioned that Miri already has piped gas supply to many houses, while piped gas for households in Kuching, Sibu, and Bintulu are in the works.
He pointed out that a pilot project in Mukah is utilising biogas made from sago waste.
“People were throwing away sago waste into the rivers, and not only is it wasteful but it is polluting.
“So why not recycle the waste and convert it into energy? Because the waste contains 60 per cent of methane, which can be used for biogas.
“The project is already completed in two villages and it will be extended to other places,” Dr Hazland disclosed.
He continued by stating that it is done by a private company but the Sarawak government is assisting under Projek Rakyat.
“The State will continue to look into other sources of renewable energy.
“As what the Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg has said before, another option is biofuel from algae, and that is still under research which is done by Sarawak Energy and a Japanese company,” he added. — DayakDaily
