SOGIP will catalyse offshore oil and gas into major economic investments for Sabah
Tourism and tourism-related activities have long been the main revenue earners for Sabah. With the discovery of oil and gas offshore, this has created new opportunities to attract new forms of investments into the state.
The Sipitang Oil & Gas Industrial Park (SOGIP), located within the Sabah, Brunei and Labuan economic triangle will become a focal point of new oil and gas investments in that region. Under the ambit of the Sabah state government, the 1,600-hectare SOGIP site is expected to attract new investments worth an estimated RM12 billion with the potential to create 30,000 new job opportunities when it is fully developed. SOGIP, which was approved in early 2011, has already attracted local and foreign oil and gas investors to scout possible investment opportunities on the site.
The availability of natural gas as feedstock from Sabah’s offshore production facilities was one of the many attractive proposals that enabled SOGIP to be well positioned to spearhead the development of the oil and gas industry in the State. Industries that would benefit from natural gas feedstock include:
- Petrochemicals plants to manufacture resins, plastics, pharmaceutical products, fertilisers and packaging materials
- Heavy industries
- Bulk product storage
- Logistics centre for exports
- R&D for bio-fuels and alternative energies
- Fabrication, construction and related activities
Jetties for importing raw materials and exporting various types of finished products will be built to give access to global markets. Basic infrastructure facilities, utilities and general amenities will also be constructed on site.
To make SOGIP site liveable and appealing to the thousands of employees expected to be working on the site, new residential, retail and commercial developments will be built concurrently.
As a sign of confidence on the site’s economic viability, PETRONAS Chemicals Group Bhd. (PCG) is building an ammonia and urea manufacturing complex at Sipitang, Sabah at an estimated development cost of US$ 1.5 billion. As the first initiative in the park, the Sabah Ammonia-Urea (SAMUR) project is one of PETRONAS’ leading initiatives to monetise natural gas obtained from Sabah’s offshore wells.
Located within SOGIP, the SAMUR Project was among the most recent and strategic developments supporting the oil and gas industry in Sabah. The Complex would comprise an ammonia plant, a urea plant and a granulation plant, as well as integrated utility units and jetty facilities. The ammonia plant is expected to produce approximately 2,100 metric tonnes per day (MTPD) of liquid ammonia while the urea plant will produce 3,500 MTPD of granulated urea. Construction is expected to start in the second quarter of 2012 with completion targeted in 2015.
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