Sarawak biodiesel plant on trial run

KUCHING: Plantation group Sarawak Oil Palms Bhd’s (SOP) biodiesel plant, one of the two plants completed in Sarawak, is currently commissioning on a trial basis.

Group chief operating officer Eric Kiu said the RM60mil plant which is located next to SOP’s palm oil refinery in Bintulu, was expected to initially operate at around 50% of its installed capacity of 300 tonnes per day.

He told StarBiz that production by the plant would be based on the biodiesel demand by the transportation sector in the state.

The other biodiesel plant in Sarawak is owned by Senari Biofuels Sdn Bhd (formerly Global Bonanza Sdn Bhd), which is located in the Senari Industrial Complex in Muara Tebas near here. Sarawak, Sabah and Labuan are the last batch of states under the Government’s implementation of the biodiesel programme nationwide.

The biodiesel programmewas first launched for the central region (Putrajaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malacca and Negri Sembilan) in June 2011, followed by southern region (Johor) in July last year and northern region (Perlis, Kedah, Penang and Perak) in October and eastern region (Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan) in January this year.

“Our biodiesel plant will mainly supply to the blending terminals in Bintulu, Miri and Tanjung Manis in Mukah Division. “The biodiesel will be sent to these terminals by road,” Kiu explained.

According to a Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) official, five terminals with in-line blending facilities and costing an average of RM10mil each are currently under construction in southern, central and northern Sarawak.

These include two in Miri, one in Bintulu, one in Senari-Kuching and one in Tanjung Manis.

With the exception of Senari, the other blending facilities are expected to be operational by next month. “As the proposed Senari terminal will only be ready early next year,“ the official said MPOB would make temporary arrangements to supply the palm biodiesel to petrol service stations in the state capital.

“By end December, all petrol service stations in major towns in Sarawak will be able to supply palm biodiesel. For Sarawak, it will implement the B7 biodiesel programme instead of B5,” added the official. To date, all the 25 blending terminals in Peninsular Malaysia are operational.

The official pointed out that the Government had allocated RM350mil to fund the development 35 blending terminals across the country. The B7 (a blend of 7% palm oil biodiesel and 93% petroleum diesel) for the transport sector was introduced in Peninsular Malaysia early this month.