Hailed as a feat of engineering, PETRONAS' Re-gasification Terminal (RGT) Sungai Udang is the world's first to be constructed on an island jetty. Boasting a revolutionary design, the RGT in Sungai Udang, Melaka will be completed this month and ready to welcome international OGE traders looking to import LNG using Malaysia as a hub. The RGT will receive, store and gasify up to 3.8 million tonnes per annum of LNG sourced from foreign countries. This capacity addresses the declining local gas reserves, meets a projected rise in the country's gas demand and ensures the supply of natural gas for Malaysia. The RGT plays a major role in the government's drive to galvanise the country's LNG trade. "In line with our strategy to launch Malaysia's LNG trading in the near future, we have liberalised companies to import their LNG, so even multinationals can import gas and use our pipeline network for their own use," says Dr Mohammed Emir Mavani Abdullah, PEMANDU director for oil, gas and energy (OGE) and financial services. PETRONAS jumpstarted the RGT in 2010 by assigning the terminal's development to PETRONAS Gas Berhad (PGB). The terminal features two floating storage units (FSU) designed for permanent berthing. The FSU system allowed PETRONAS to save two years of construction versus re-gasification facilities on land. A three-kilometre undersea pipeline connects the terminal to a 30-kilometre pipeline on land leading to PGB's Peninsular Gas Utilisation network. Local companies also benefited from working on the terminal's completion, gaining access to the technologies used in its construction. With the RGT in place, Malaysia steps to the forefront of global LNG trading. "LNG trading is very new and many countries are trying to create a trading hub," Emir says. "We heartily invite traders to move into Malaysia and make feasible trading happen here."
