Petronas said it had declared force majeure on gas supply to Malaysia LNG Dua’s facility at the giant Bintulu LNG complex in Sarawak.
The move follows a pipeline leak caused by “soil movement at the vicinity of KP201, Sabah-Sarawak Gas Pipeline (SSGP) that occurred on September 21, 2022,” Petronas said in a statement on Saturday.
“This has impacted the supply of gas to MLNG Dua’s production facility at Petronas LNG Complex in Bintulu, Sarawak,” the firm said.
MLNG Dua operates the second liquefaction facility as part of the 30 mtpa Bintulu liquefaction and export complex.
Petronas has an 80 percent stake in MLNG Dua, while the government of Sarawak and Japan’s Mitsubishi each hold a 10 percent stake.
The facility started shipping LNG back in 1995 and consists of three trains with a total capacity of 9.6 mtpa.
LNG delivery impacted
Petroans said that the force majeure affects the supply of gas to MLNG Dua’s production facility only, while the other LNG production facilities within the giant complex continue to operate as planned.
“Petronas is mindful that this incident has impacted its delivery commitments to some of its contracted LNG buyers and it is in discussions to identify suitable mitigation efforts,” it said.
The company added that it is currently conducting a “comprehensive evaluation of the SSGP to ensure the integrity and safety of the pipeline”.
Besides Mitsubishi, MLNG Dua supplies Eneos, Jera, Sendai City Gas, Shizuoka Gas,
Tohoku Electric, and Tokyo Gas under long-term contracts, according to data by GIIGNL.
The Bintulu LNG complex includes MLNG Satu, MLNG Dua, MLNG Tiga, and the most recent Train 9 which started commercial operations in 2017.
During the first half of this year, Petronas delivered 201 LNG cargoes from the Bintulu LNG facility.
The plant, which has shipped more than 12,000 LNG cargoes since it started operations back in 1983, supplies key demand centers such as Japan, South Korea, China, and Taiwan.