S’wak govt to work with Thai company to explore sour gas initiatives in region

Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg (file photo)

By DayakDaily Team

KUCHING, July 2: The Sarawak government will work with PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP)—a national petroleum exploration and production company based in Thailand—to jointly explore sour gas initiatives in the region.

According to a TVS new report, Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said the Thai company will work with Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS) and Shell to carry out the initiative, which is seen to prosper the use of green energy in the region.

“What happened was that the gas they took and explored was sour gas that contained a lot of carbon hydroxide, which did not have any good effect on the gas.

“The company will later break down the carbon hydroxide. Then, the gas at that time will be put in the ground and made into sweet gas that is used for some materials as raw materials to produce petrochemicals,” he said.

He said this during the Sarawak Oil and Gas Services and Equipment (OGSE) Industry Vendor Appreciation Ceremony here on July 1.

In addition, Abang Johari explained that with increasingly developed and modern technology, investors can take advantage of the sour gas that was previously unexploited due to its relatively high cost.

Last year, Sarawak invested over RM10 billion to establish Bintulu as a sour gas hub via the Sarawak Integrated Sour Gas Evacuation System (SISGES) at Tanjung Kidurong.

Abang Johari said that the development of the Petrochemical Industrial Park (PIP) will be in line with Sarawak’s ambition to achieve the status of a developed State by 2030.

Sour gas is natural gas containing significant amounts of hydrogen sulphide, giving rise to its characteristic odour of rotten eggs. — DayakDaily