April 16, 2012 [The Malaysian Insider] - The first phase of the Malaysia’s ambitious RM5 billion deepwater oil terminal in Pengerang, Johor is on schedule and will be operational by January 2014, Dialog group executive chairman Ngau Boon Keat said on Saturday, 14th of April.
“We are on schedule,” Ngau said in a briefing to the media at the terminal’s construction site office.
The first phase of the Vopak Pengerang project — which is officially known as the Pengerang Independent Deepwater Petroleum Terminal (PIDPT) — will involve the reclamation of 150 acres of land with a oil storage capacity of 1.3 million cubic meters and seven berths at a cost of RM1.9 billion.
Its location at the entrance of one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes and water depths of 24 meters which facilitate the berthing of very large crude carriers (VLCCs) are expected to help PIDPT become a major oil storage facility for oil traders.
The Vopak Pengerang project is joint venture between Dialog, Dutch company Vopak and Johor state.
Dialog and Vopak hold a 49 and 51 per cent stake respectively in Pengerang Terminals Sdn Bhd.
Pengerang Terminals in turn holds a 90 per cent stake in Pengerang Independent Terminals Sdn Bhd, the operator of PIDPT, with Johor state holding the remaining 10 per cent.
PIDPT is also expected to support Petronas’ massive RM60 billion Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (RAPID), also in Pengerang.
The RAPID project aims to tap the growing need for speciality chemicals and the demand for petroleum and commodity petrochemical products in the Asia Pacific region by 2016.
He added that PIDPT and RAPID would help draw hundreds of billions of oil and gas investments to south Johor, creating many jobs and boosting the local economy.
