Petroliam Nasional Bhd.,
Malaysia
’s state oil and gas company, will build a $20 billion refining complex
bordering
Singapore
to benefit from increased global demand for petrochemicals and plastics.
Petronas, as it is known, will construct a
crude oil refinery with a capacity of 300,000 barrels a day, a naphtha cracker,
petrochemicals and polymer facilities in Pengerang, in the country’s southern
state of Johor, Prime Minister Najib Razak told reporters in
Kuala Lumpur
today. It may also construct a liquefied natural gas import and
re-gasification terminal in the area, he said.
The project, scheduled for completion in 2016, will help the nation
compete with
Singapore
,
which has a refining capacity of more than twice as large even though it has no
natural energy resources of its own.
Malaysia
and
Indonesia
,
Southeast Asia
’s biggest oil producers, have lagged their neighbor in investing in
specialist downstream facilities, which traditionally produce higher margins.
“This signifies the depth of Petronas’s ambition to capture the
opportunities that
Asia
’s dynamic energy and chemical markets are expected to provide in the
decades ahead, especially in the specialty chemicals segment,” Najib said. “These
efforts will also strengthen and help diversify the country’s export
capabilities.”
Boosting Capacity
Petronas, Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal
Dutch Shell Plc operate refineries in
Malaysia
with a combined capacity of 551,700 barrels a day, according to data
compiled by Bloomberg.
Exxon, Shell, Chevron Corp. and Singapore Petroleum Co. operate
refineries in
Singapore
with a daily capacity of 1.32 million barrels, according to data compiled by
Bloomberg. They import crude from overseas, including
Indonesia
, for processing and re-export.