Fire breaks out at LNG plant in Bintulu, explosion averted

MIRI: A massive fire broke out at the Petronas Liquefied Natural Gas plant near Bintulu town but was extinguished before it caused any explosion.

Videos taken by the public showed raging flames and smoke billowing from the plant.

Tanjung Batu state assemblyman Chiew Ching Sing, when contacted on Saturday (Feb 23), said the fire was doused before it reached the gas-processing facilities.

"The fire apparently happened on Friday (Feb 22).

"From the information I received, it happened at a section of the plant that was meant to supply sea water to cool the facilities that process and store the liquefied natural gas.

"Somehow, a fire broke out at that cooling facility.

"The LNG firefighters managed to contain the flames before the fire spread to the gas-processing and storage section.

"If the fire had spread to the gas section, the result would have been disastrous," he said.

Chiew said he had asked for specific details of the incident from the management of Petronas.

"The LNG Plant must be fire-proof because it deals with highly flammable and highly explosive gas.

"How could a fire break out like this? This is the second time such a fire broke out in LNG Bintulu in the past few years," Chiew said.

A check with the Petronas Sarawak headquarters showed that the fire in the Bintulu LNG plant was doused after about one hour.

"We confirm there was a fire at LNG Bintulu.

"The fire broke out at about 6am on Feb 22 (Friday) at the cooling section but outside of the gas-processing plant.

"Petronas emergency team doused the fire within an hour.

"No one was injured. We are investigating the cause of the fire," said a spokesperson when contacted.

The Bintulu LNG Plant is located about 20km from Bintulu town.