UOB Kay Hian Research analyst Kong Ho Meng said while there have not been any large tenders awarded by Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), it expected contracts to be rolled out from next year. In Malaysia, he said, about 11% or about 35 of the over 300 platforms have been operating for over 40 years, and more than 200 wells have already been identified to be plugged and abandoned.
SINGAPORE: A supertanker carrying the first crude oil cargo for a refinery joint-venture project between Petronas and Saudi Aramco is expected to reach Malaysia by end-September, according to trade sources and data from Thomson Reuters Oil Research and Forecast.
The very large crude carrier (VLCC) Navarin carrying 1 million barrels each of Saudi Arab Medium crude and Iraqi Basra Light crude is scheduled to reach Malaysia on Sept. 20.
The project, Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (RAPID), is a $27 billion complex located between the Malacca Strait and the South China Sea, conduits for Middle East oil and gas bound for China, Japan and South Korea.
The RAPID complex will have a 300,000-barrel-per-day refinery and petrochemical units with a capacity of 7.7 million tonnes a year. Refinery operations are set to begin in 2019, with petrochemical production to follow in six to 12 months. - Reuters
