Malaysia is the third-largest natural gas reserves holder in the Asia-Pacific region and the second-largest oil and natural gas producer in Southeast Asia. Proven natural gas reserves are just under 85 Tcf. According to the US Energy Informa- tion Administration (EIA), Malaysia’s dry natural gas pro- duction has increased steadily, reaching 2.3 Tcf in 2012. The majority of natural gas production comes from two areas: the Malaysia-Thailand Joint Development Area (MTJDA) and offshore Sarawak. The MTJDA covers 2,800 mi2 in the lower
part of the Gulf of Thailand. This area contains proven natural gas reserves of nearly 10 Tcf.
Most of Malaysia’s natural gas reserves are located in the eastern region, offshore Sarawak. Burgeoning production off- shore Sarawak supports Petronas’ massive, eight-train Bintulu LNG export terminal. Bintulu is the primary reason why Ma- laysia is the world’s second-largest LNG exporter, behind Qa- tar. By 2016, however, Malaysia will drop to third place, once Australia’s new LNG terminals are put into operation. Australia plans to add over 61 MMtpy of domestic LNG export capacity by the end of 2016.
Malaysia is also developing numerous downstream proj- ects under its Economic Transformation Program (ETP). The ETP’s goal is to turn Malaysia into a developed country by 2020. These goals include increased production at offshore oil and gas fields, as well as the construction of downstream proj- ects in Pengerang, Bintulu and the launch of the world’s first floating LNG (FLNG) vessel. These ambitious goals also have the potential to challenge neighboring Singapore in the race to become Asia’s defining LNG hub.
Pengerang. Malaysia’s demand for natural gas sits at around
1.1 Tcf. The country’s eastern region has ample supplies and production to meet existing demand, but the country’s west- ern region suffers from supply shortages, especially in high- demand centers. This scenario has prompted Malaysia to con- struct its first LNG import terminal at Pengerang.
The Pengerang LNG import terminal is part of the much larger Pengerang Integrated Petroleum Complex (PIPC). Once completed, the project will house oil refineries, petro- chemical plants, naphtha crackers, and an LNG import termi- nal and regasification facility (FIG. 1).
The PIPC consists of two primary phases. Phase 1 con- sisted of the development of the Pengerang Independent Deepwater Petroleum Terminal (PIDPT). This project was designed to handle the storage, blending and distribution of crude oil, natural gas and petroleum products. The $1.5-B project was developed by Pengerang Independent Terminals,
a JV between Malaysia’s Dialog Group, Dutch company Royal Vopak and Johor State Secretary Inc.
Phase 1 also included the construction of 1.3 MMcm of storage capacity. The terminal received its first cargo in 2Q 2014. Phase 2 of the PIDPT is underway. This development will replicate Phase 1, with the construction of more facilities and an additional 1.3 MMcm of storage capacity.
The second primary phase is the construction of the am- bitious Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (RAPID) project. RAPID will include a 300-Mbpd refinery, a petrochemical complex with a combined capacity of 7.7 MMtpy of various products, and an LNG regasification ter- minal. RAPID is estimated to cost $16 B, while the associated facilities will cost more than $11 B. The project has been de- layed several times, but Petronas’ board of directors approved the project in April 2014. Major contract awards are listed in
TABLE 1. The scheduled startup date is early 2019.
Bintulu. Petronas operates one of the largest LNG terminals
in the world. The Petronas LNG complex, located at Bintu- lu, consists of eight trains with a total processing capacity of nearly 26 MMtpy. The facility is operated by Malaysia LNG Sdn Bhd (MLNG). MLNG was formed in 1978 when Petro- nas, Shell and Mitsubishi secured a partnership agreement to develop Malaysia’s first LNG project. The consortium com- pleted its first LNG liquefaction plant in mid-1982, with the first cargo departing in January of the following year.
The complex is a collection of three LNG processing plant modules:
• MLNG Satu—3 trains with 8.4 MMtpy of capacity • MLNG Dua—3 trains with 9.6 MMtpy of capacity • MLNG Tiga—2 trains with 7.7 MMtpy of capacity.
Preserved environmentally sensitive area Residential and commercial areas To national grid Into PGU LNG regasification plant Crude and LNG storage Crude and LNG imports
Pipeline Oil refineries Crackers Power plant Petrochemical plants Buff er zone Buffer zone Industrial zone
36JANUARY 2015 | HydrocarbonProcessing.com
Boxscore Construction Analysis
To process gas from newly discovered fields in offshore Sar- awak, Petronas is planning the construction of a ninth train at Bintulu. The $2-B, 3.6-MMtpy LNG train will have bidirec- tional capabilities for both liquefaction and regasification pro- cessing. JGC Corp. was awarded both the FEED and engineer- ing, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) contracts. JGC will also be responsible for rejuvenation work on Trains 4, 5 and 6 at Bintulu. The rejuvenation project is scheduled for completion in January 2019.
Train 9 will include gas receiving facilities, an acid gas remov- al unit, dehydration and mercury removal units, fractionation and liquefaction units, and associated utilities and facilities. Completion is scheduled for early 2016. Once finished, total liquefaction capacity at Bintulu will reach nearly 30 MMtpy.
FLNG. Petronas is also pioneering the
use of FLNG technology. The compa- ny is developing two FLNG vessels—
PFLNG 1 and PFLNG 2. Once complet-
ed in 4Q 2015, PFLNG 1 will be the first FLNG vessel in operation in the world. The vessel will be located in the Kanowit field, 180 km offshore Bintulu, Malaysia.
PFLNG 1 will have a design capacity of
1.2 MMtpy and will be able to monetize natural gas from Malaysia’s smaller, re- mote offshore fields.
FEED work, along with engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning (EPCIC), was con- ducted by Technip Daewoo, a JV between Technip and Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering. The vessel is be- ing constructed at Daewoo’s shipyard in Okpo, South Korea. Construction on
PFLNG 1 commenced in June 2013. The
keel was laid in January 2014 (FIG. 2), and
the hull was launched in April 2014. In late January 2014, Petronas approved the construction of PFLNG 2. Once completed, the 1.5-MMtpy vessel will operate at the Rotan gas field. The dual-FEED contract was awarded in 2012 to the Modec, CB&I Nederland BV and Toyo Engineering Corp. consortium, as well as to the JGC, Samsung Heavy Industries Co. (MHI), JGC Malaysia and SHI Malaysia consortium. The EPCIC contract was awarded to the consortium of JGC, JGC Malaysia, SHI and SHI Ma- laysia. Air Products will provide its proprietary AP-NTM LNG technology for the vessel. PFLNG 2 is scheduled for startup by early 2018.
Both FLNG vessels will enable Petronas to unlock gas re- serves in Malaysia’s remote and stranded fields, which were once thought to be uneconomical to develop.
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TABLE 1. Major contract awards for Petronas’ RAPID project
Company Contract Units
CTCI, Chiyoda, Synerlitz (Malaysia) and MIE Industrial EPCC Residue fl uid catalytic cracking units, LPG treating unit, propylene recovery unit and caustic neutralization units Sinopec Engineering, Sinopec Engineering Malaysia EPCC Crude distillation unit, atmospheric residue desulfurization units
and hydrogen collection and distribution units
Tecnicas Reunidas SA, Tecnicas Reunidas Malaysia EPCC Kerosine hydrotreating unit, diesel hydrotreating unit, naphtha hydrotreating unit, cracked naphtha hydrotreating unit, and continuous catalytic reformer units
Petrofac (UAE), Petrofac E&C (Malaysia) EPCC Amine recovery units, sulfur recovery units, sour water stripping units, liquid sulfur storage unit, and sulfur solidifi cation units Toyo Engineering, Toyo E&C Malaysia EPCC Steam cracker complex
Technip-Fluor PMC N/A
Siemens, Siemens Malaysia, MMC Engineering Services EPCC and long-term service agreement
Cogeneration plant