O&G Industry Set To Stimulate Sabah's Growth In North Asia, BIMP-EAGA

By Newmond Tibin KOTA KINABALU (Sabah, Malaysia), April 9 (Bernama) -- The oil and gas industry is set to play a leading role in stimulating growth for Sabah state of Malaysia within the North Asia and the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asia Growth Area (BIMB-EAGA), said Chief Minister Musa Aman. He said Sabah is strategically located between the two major economic regions. "One is the affluent markets of North Asia including Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and China, and second is the growth of developing markets within the BIMP-EAGA," he said in his remarks when opening the 2012 Sabah Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition here Monday. Musa said the Sabah government is fully committed to the development of the oil and gas industry in the state. "We have been engaging with the Federal government in the area of provision of funds for physical development of infrastructure and industrial facilities, and with Petronas on matters such as gas supply. "The state government will work with Petronas and the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) to attract investors to establish oil and gas industrial activities in Sabah," he said. Musa, who is also state Finance Minister, said the state government strives to create a conducive environment for business and investment. "I would like to stress that Sabah, as is true of Malaysia as a whole, is politically stable and peaceful and investors can take comfort in this. "We also have clear and defined economic and development policies that do not change overnight and that itself is an assurance of stability," he said. He pointed out that the government is also committed to providing sufficient and efficient utilities and infrastructure facilities. Musa cited a number of gas-related projects in various stages of development in Sabah, including the Sabah Oil and Gas Terminal (SOGT) in Kimanis, the Sabah-Sarawak Gas Pipeline, gas-fired power plants in Kimanis and Lahad Datu district, the granular urea and ammonia plant in Sipitang and the re-gasification plant in Lahad Datu. "The urea and ammonia plant alone is estimated to bring in about US$1.46 billion (RM4.5 billion worth of investment value and provide about 2,450 jobs including employment for some 2,000 people during the construction of the facilities," he said. -- BERNAMA