SEC urged to bring natural gas to east coast, Sipitang

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Siringan (third left) witnessing the commissioning of SEC’s Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) project via its Virtual Pipeline System.
bprep/ photos/ Aug 22/ Siringan

TUARAN: The Ministry of Resource Development and Information Technology has urged Sabah Energy Corporation Sdn Bhd (SEC) to explore the possibility of bringing natural gas to the east coast of Sabah and Sipitang.

Its minister Datuk Siringan Gubat made the call yesterday during the commissioning of SEC’s Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) project via its Virtual Pipeline System event at Colourcoil Industries Sdn Bhd’s premises in Telipok.

“We need to share the benefits of using natural gas as far and wide as possible throughout Sabah, and I believe bringing natural gas to the east coast and Sipitang will give us the opportunity to serve the interior.

“Work closely with the relevant ministries and industries, and I am sure everyone will come out a winner at the end of the day,” he said.

Siringan said that as a government-linked company, SEC was responsible for promoting, facilitating and developing energy resources in Sabah, while natural gas is an important energy resource that is abundantly available in the state.

“I am pleased to note that SEC has been thinking out of the box in seeking alternatives to traditional supply channel, which is the physical pipeline. Today, we are witnessing the Virtual Pipeline System in operation.

“We often hear about mother ships as focal points in logistics. The same concept applies in the Virtual Pipeline System, we have mother station serving many daughter stations. With the mother station located strategically within the Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park (KKIP) area, it is able to deliver natural gas to customers within a 70-kilometer radius. Industries in the west coast stretching from Kota Belud to Papar would be able to benefit from this,” he added.

Siringan said that compared to the traditional fuel source, natural gas is a much cheaper and cleaner fuel. This will translate directly into cheaper operating costs, and hence better bottom line.

SEC chief executive officer Datuk Harun Ismail said the CNG project was officially launched by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman in July 2012 and the first gas rollout was achieved on 10th June.

“Sabah is the first in Malaysia to introduce this innovative compressed natural gas distribution system. Prior to the introduction of the Virtual Pipeline System, SEC could only distribute natural gas via underground gas pipelines in the Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park (KKIP). Beyond KKIP, it is uneconomical to build and distribute natural gas by pipelines due to the high capital cost and the relative small demand volume.

“Hence, after an in-depth study, SEC decided to implement the Virtual Pipeline System as the alternative mode of distributing natural gas for distant customers,” he said.

It is known as ‘virtual pipeline’ because there is no physical pipeline for the continuous flow of natural gas from the mother station to the daughter station at the user’s premises.

Due to its clean burning property, Harun said, the use of natural gas would reduce maintenance costs and increase the operating efficiency, competitiveness and profitability of your business.

“In fact, one of our customers has noted that the consistent temperature and pressure and flame properties of CNG has also resulted in a superior manufactured end product. As it is also an environmentally-friendly fuel, the use of natural gas will contribute to a cleaner and healthier environment for all of us,” he said.

Since the the launching of the project in July, seven customers had signed up for CNG, and SEC expects more customers will come on board as awareness of this cleaner, better quality and cheaper fuel increases.

Also present yesterday were the Ambassador of Argentina Maria Isobel Rendon, Sabah State Legislative Assembly deputy speaker Datuk Dr Johnson Tee, Sabah Energy Corporation Sdn Bhd chairman Au Kam Wah, Ministry of Resource Development and Information Technology permanent secretary Bruno Vun, GNC Asia Pacific regional manager Galileo Juan Ojenguren and Colorcoil Industries Sdn Bhd managing director Roger Ling.