FROM its humble beginnings as a trading company, Kinsajasa Sdn Bhd has grown to become a recognised player providing oil and gas engineering services in Sarawak.
Established in 1999, the Miri-based company started out supplying valves, flanges and other consumables to oil and gas entities such as PETRONAS Carigali Sdn Bhd.
Since then, it has ventured into technical services, including the niche area of condition-based monitoring (CBM) at a time when very few Sarawakian companies provided such services.
“Apart from trading with PETRONAS subsidiaries and other clients, the management realised that providing CBM services should be the bread-and-butter of the company from a business perspective,”said Kinsajasa Sdn Bhd managing director Abdul Karim Ali, who hails from Kuching.
“The emphasis is on CBM for mechanical rotating equipment such as turbines, compressors and pumps.
“However, we realised that CBM can be expanded to electrical equipment and piping as well to look at the overall health of clients' assets to ensure high reliability and uninterrupted production.”
In 2008, Kinsajasa secured its first CBM contract in Sarawak with PETRONAS Carigali Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of PETRONAS.
The company is now a PETRONAS-licensed vendor and an active service provider to PETRONAS operations, including Sarawak-based PETRONAS Carigali Sdn Bhd and Malaysia LNG Sdn Bhd.
Abdul Karim added that Kinsajasa benefited from participating in PETRONAS' Vendor Development Programme (VDP) for six years, starting in 2015.
“The good thing about VDP is that PETRONAS really holds your hand, providing coaching and training. We gained knowledge and skills and also got to know PETRONAS better.”
Kinsajasa currently has 18 active contracts serving 11 clients, including two in Peninsular Malaysia and one in Sabah.
Besides CBM, it offers services to assess the mechanical integrity of piping and valves to prevent Loss of Containment (LoC), while helping clients manage acceptable levels of asset failure risk.
In addition, the company has developed its capability to carry out maintenance of mechanical rotating equipment in collaboration with its partners.
It has also diversified into firefighting equipment maintenance and gas detection and monitoring system, as well as technical and cost-effective solutions such as the use of wireless sensor technology.
As part of its CBM services, the company analyses lube oil samples from clients in its ISO-accredited lab in Miri.
As a local company, Abdul Karim said Kinsajasa is committed to developing its own staff and competency through job exposure, training and coaching.
It currently has 54 employees, the majority of whom are Sarawakians.
“As part of the company’s business expansion programme, we are recruiting more employees, particularly Sarawakians,” he said, adding that 24% of the company's workforce are women.
Abdul Karim acknowledged that the oil and gas industry can be very challenging, especially with fluctuating oil prices and the need to meet safety standards.
“Companies like ours have to drive down operating expenses in order to maximise profits. Another challenge is attracting and retaining talent, as competitors often offer lucrative remuneration packages.
“Despite all this, my management team is continuously improving the way we manage the organisation by keeping pace with the latest technology to drive down costs, offering competitive remuneration packages, developing staff competencies and abiding by Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) standards,” he said.
Abdul Karim shared that Kinsajasa is also exploring new technology in CBM to drive down costs for the clients and the company.
He encouraged Sarawakians to venture into CBM, as not many had skills and experience in this field.
“They can join us to expand their careers in this niche area. Perhaps local institutions can incorporate CBM in their mechanical engineering courses to create interest among students.
“Our engineers can share their experience and career path with students if the opportunity arises,” he said.
Looking ahead, Abdul Karim said Kinsajasa was exploring overseas ventures in South-East Asia.
“There are companies in Vietnam that recognise our capabilities and wish to collaborate with us.”
He added: “We also have partners in Brunei to expand our business, as well as Singaporeans who recognise our strength in CBM.
“InsyaAllah, Kinsajasa will progress far in whatever we are doing, not just in Sarawak but the whole of Malaysia.”
Learn more about Kinsajasa at https://kinsajasa.com/ and discover PETRONAS at https://www.petronas.com/.
