ID :
185821
Wed, 06/01/2011 - 10:50
Auther :

GULF PETROLEUM'S OIL AND GAS PROJECT TO MEET RISING DEMAND FOR PETROLEUM PRODUCTS

By Siti Hawa Othman

KUALA LUMPUR, June 1 (Bernama) -- Gulf Petroleum (M) Sdn Bhd's (GPLM)
proposed integrated oil and gas project in Port Dickson is expected to meet
the rising demand for petroleum products in the Asia Pacific region following
limited global refining capacities.

"Demand has exceeded supply. We see in general that demand in the region has
been increasing between two to three per cent annually," its Managing Director
Nor Azmi Abdullah told Bernama in a recent phone interview.

To be located on a 607.5 hectare site in Port Dickson, the US$5 billion
project would include an oil refinery with a capacity of 150,000 barrels per
day, a petrochemical plant and storage facilities within the first phase.

As to who the clients would be, he said GPLM already has some basic
understanding with major end-users from China, India, South Korea and also
Japan.

"The products mainly go to two major markets, namely China and India," he
added.

Nor Azmi said the company hoped to resolve all issues pertaining to the site
location by September this year, with construction expected to begin in the
second quarter of 2012 and completion by 2015.

"We have secured conditional approvals in principle. We hope to practically
start work in the second quarter of next year as the refinery would take between
three to four years to build," he added.

Gulf Petroleum had last Sunday signed agreements with several parties from
China, Hong Kong and India for the proposed development of the project.

They include the world’s second largest telecom solutions provider from
China, Huawei Technologies, and a Malaysia-India consortium comprising Extrarich
Marine Sdn Bhd, Marmagoa Steel Ltd and Rukmani Finance Pte Ltd as well as
Oriental Air Energy Investment Corporation Ltd from Hong Kong.

Nor Azmi said the company had received proposals from 35 countries worldwide
to participate in the project, including renowned banking groups, foreign
government agencies, national oil companies and other international oil
companies.

He attributed the overwhelming interest received from various groups
worldwide to the cross-border economic cooperation currently being promoted by
the Gulf Cooperation Council-Asean Economic Centre (GCCAEC) to include the oil
and gas sector.

The GCCAEC was established with the view of bridging the Arabian GCC and
Asean by way of economic activities.


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