KOTA KINABALU: State-owned Sabah Energy Corporation Sdn Bhd (SEC) is set to finalise a joint venture for the construction of the nation’s first micro liquefied gas plant in Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park (KKIP).
The plant will be owned by a subsidiary company of SEC through a joint venture which will be finalised soon.
SEC chief executive officer Dato Harun Hj Ismail told press members who attended his Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house near here recently that they have already gotten the approval from their shareholders and the signing ceremony would be held once the joint venture terms are finalised accordingly.
He said he was very optimistic of the joint venture as it would mean being able to supply energy in the form of liquefied gas to a wider spectrum of consumer base in the west coast of Sabah.
The plant is expected to produce 35 tonnes of liquefied gas a day and would enable SEC to deliver natural gas to those areas which were previously inaccessible through its existing supply of compressed natural gas (CNG) and underground pipeline.
The limitation of CNG, Harun said, is that it could only be supplied to customers who live within 70 kilometres from the CNG mother station in KKIP.
“We also plan to approach customers in Kota Kinabalu, who cannot be supplied with CNG (which requires large storage area), to be supplied with liquefied gas.
“With liquefied gas, we can reach customers in Kudat, Keningau, Beaufort, Ranau and so on,” he pointed out.
The plant will cost around RM60 million and work to construct it will begin this year and is expected to be complete next year.
Also incorporated into the project is the sophisticated virtual pipeline system, a system that constantly updates SEC on the current status of their customers’ liquefied gas stock. The system is made possible through the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), which is run by the Internet.
“Once their stock runs low, we will re-supply them continuously,” Harun noted.
He added that they will be approaching potential customers who are currently using Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) or diesel as energy source to introduce them to liquefied gas, which is not only cheaper but also cleaner to use.
“They can expect savings of between 15 to 50 per cent when they start using it,” Harun said.
He added that liquefied gas is suitable for most businesses, including resorts, hotels, coffee shops and other commercial uses as well as industrial establishments.