KUCHING (Oct 4): Petronas Global Technical Solutions Sdn Bhd (PGTSSB) has entered into an agreement with Sarawak Petchem Sdn Bhd to provide advisory and technical support services for Sarawak’s first mega methanol plant.

In a statement today, Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) said the agreement covered advisory on technical services, procurement and turnaround, as well as critical operations and maintenance support for the methanol project throughout its project execution and operation stages.

It said the agreement demonstrated 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 agreement was signed by PGTSSB Board Chairman Noor Ilias Mohd Idris and Sarawak Petchem’s Director-in-Charge Dr Muhammad Abdullah Zaidel at a cremony here on Oct 1.

Established in June 2017, Sarawak Petchem 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.

PGTSSB is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Petronas that offers technical services to the oil and gas sector.

Petronas said 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 became Sarawak Petchem’s partner to market methanol products for the project.

Noor Ilias said in the statement: “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.”

Currently, Institut Teknologi Petroleum Petronas (INSTEP) 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 began their technical training at INSTEP in August via Virtual Instructor-Led Training.

PGTSSB has served more than 30 local and multinational companies covering services in the scope of engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC), as well as operations for various projects across the oil, gas and petrochemical value chain. -Source: The Borneo Post