Oil and gas services provider, Dialog Group Bhd, plans to invest over US$1 billion (US$1=RM3.50) to build a storage terminal and port facility in Pengerang, Johor.

 
Its chairman/group managing director, Ngau Boon Keat, said the project would start early next year once it was found to be viable after a six-month feasibility study, including an environmental impact assessment.
 
“The project is expected to take up to 10 years to complete. It may be split into three phases and we will be inviting other partners such as multinational corporations involved in oil storage services to build and operate the terminal,” he told reporters after the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Johor state government and State Secretary Johor (Inc) on the project here Monday.
 
Also present was Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman.
Ngau said under the MOU, the parties would form a joint venture company to undertake the development of the terminal on 200 hectares of reclaimed land in south-east Johor.
 
“It will be the first independent deepwater terminal facility of its kind in South-East Asia,” he said, adding that the terminal would be able to accommodate approximately four to five cubic metres of storage.
 
He said the demand for storage facilities in the region has increased despite the recent financial crisis and the proposed project, located adjacent to Singapore, was timely to meet the demand.
 
“We are aware that there is inadequate land for further expansion capacity in Singapore. This project will enable Johor to become an important petroleum logistics and trading hub,” he said.
Singapore is the region’s main hub for petroleum trading in the region.
 
Ngau said Singapore recently planned to develop underground and floating storage facilities that would cost between 30 and 50 percent more than normal above-ground facilities thus making Dialog’s proposed terminal more competitive.
 
Meanwhile, in a statement here today, Dialog said the proposed terminal would handle, store, blend and distribute crude oil and petroleum products with port facilities capable of handling very large crude carriers with a depth of up to 26 metres.
 
“This project will be the third major investment after Kertih Terminal and the Langsat Terminal, which will result in an increase in the sources of sustainable and recurring income in the future,” it said.