Petronas LNG 9

Image Source : The Borneo Post – MLNG Train 9

Location : Bintulu, Sarawak

Malaysia’s history as a major LNG producer began with the discovery of substantial gas reserves in Sarawak’s Central Luconia basin, 125 km from Bintulu, in the 1960s. On 31st March 1978, PETRONAS signed a joint venture agreement with Shell BV, Mitsubishi Corporation and Sarawak government to initiate the country’s first liquified natural gas projects. The small town of Bintulu in the island of Borneo, Malaysia was selected as an ideal site due to its strategic location and proper geographical condition for developing Sarawak’s first deep sea port, specifically to cater to large LNG ships that will call the port in the future. The Petronas LNG complex is built on an area covering over 276 hectares.

MLNG Satu, Malaysia’s first liquefaction plant, with 3 LNG processing trains of combined capacity 8.1 MMTPA, started its operation on November 1982. The success of the project and growing LNG demand in the world spurred Malaysia to quickly develop expansion plans for their LNG assets. MLNG Dua shipped the first cargo from the 9.6 MMTPA, 3 Train project on 19th May 1995. Further expansion necessitated construction of 2 more trains under the 6.8 MMTPA MLNG Tiga project, which shipped its first cargo on 19th March 2003. Discovery of newer gas fields off-shore from Sarawak spurred the construction of a 9^th train at the facility.

On 13 January 2012, PETRONAS LNG 9 Sdn Bhd was incorporated to build the 9th LNG Train, along with additional gas receiving facilities, an acid gas removal unit, a dehydration and mercury removal unit, a fractionation and liquefaction unit, an LNG rundown unit, a seventh new LNG storage tank, as well as associated utilities and facilities. The project also called PETRONAS 9 or MLNG Train 9, is owned by PETRONAS (70%), PTT Global LNG Holding (10%), Sarawak Government (10%) and JX Nippon (10%). The first LNG cargo from the plant was shipped on 14 September 2016. The 3.6 MMTPA train receives 850 million standard cubic feet of feed gas daily. MLNG has long term contracts with KOGAS of South Korea, and several Japanese customers including Tokyo Electric Power Co. Inc. and Tokyo Gas Co. Ltd., who renewed their 20-year sale and purchase agreement on 17 March 2003.

The plant uses Air Products & Chemicals Inc.’s (APCI) Propane Pre-cooled Mixed Refrigerant (C3-MR) liquefaction concept and has maintained a 100% success delivery rate to its customers, establishing a reputation as a preferred and reliable LNG supplier in the world. At one point of time the PETRONAS LNG complex became the world’s largest LNG processing facility in a single location, until Qatar established itself as an international LNG giant. The plant exports Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), Propane and Butane (LPG) and Stabilized Gasoline.

MLNG is actively involved with various education, capability-building and outreach programmes. The initiatives cover a wide range of human development needs to improve the lives and well-being of both present and future generations. Dedicated skills development and industrial training programs have been initiated for nurturing its workforce as well as providing valuable exposure to students from the community. The company claims that sustainability is an integral part of how they operate, as they conduct their business in an ethically, socially, and environmentally responsible manner. Biodiversity, Environmental and Conservation (Beacon) Project at Similajau National Park (SNP) is a collaborative venture with Sarawak Forestry for the preservation and conservation of marine biodiversity in Bintulu waters through programs such as Friends of Nature. MLNG deployed approximately 1,500 artificial reef balls at the Similajau National Park, at a cost of RM4.6 million, to improve the livelihood of the local community and biodiversity conservation.

OWNERSHIP (Equity %)

PETRONAS	70.00%
JX Nippon Oil & Energy	10.00%
PTT Global LNG	10.00%
Sarawak State Government	10.00%

General Data

Estimated Capital Cost (USD)	NA
Plant Type	Onshore Stick-built
Plant Stage	Operating
Final Investment Decision (FID) Year	2013
FEED Contractor	JGC Corporation Chiyoda Corporation Saipem
EPC Contractor	JGC Corporation
No. of Trains / capacity	1 Train / 3.6 MMTPA
Production Start Year	2016
Products	LNG
Gas Type	Non-associated Gas (NAG)

Technical Data

coming soon…

Refrigeration Train Configuration

coming soon…

Key Facts

PETRONAS has more than 25 years of experience in the LNG business through MLNG Group of Companies. The group services key customers in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and China. Excess cargoes are sold in the spot market. ¹
PETRONAS contracted JGC Corporation and the joint venture (JV) of Chiyoda Corporation and Saipem under a dual FEED scheme for Train 9. However, subsequently the $2 Billion EPCC contract and the $500 million piping and ancillary facilities contract were awarded to JGC. JGC has been involved in the construction of all the 9 trains, as well as MLNG’s revamp project.²
GE provided a fully integrated solution for Train 9, including GE Oil & Gas turbo compression equipment and variable speed drive systems from GE’s Power Conversion business. The propane and MR cycles employ GE Frame 7EA gas turbine, along with a 13-megawatt induction motor running at 3,600 rpm and VSI technology variable speed drive systems.³
PETRONAS LNG Train 9 involved construction of additional infrastructure including gas receiving facilities, acid gas removal unit, dehydration and mercury removal unit, fractionation and liquefaction unit, LNG rundown unit and all the associated utilities and facilities. However, the LNG produced from the new train is exported via the existing storage and loading facilities within the Complex.⁴
Petronas LNG 9 Sdn Bhd (PL9SB) was incorporated wholly owned by PETRONAS. In June 2016, JX Nippon Oil & Energy bought 10% equity worth USD 400 million in MLNG 9. This was JX Nippon’s second investment in MLNG to secure gas fo Japan’s domestic needs.⁵
In a bid to meet Thailand’s growing demand for LNG, as well declining domestic production, Thailand’s PTT Exploration and Production Public Co. (PTTEP) acquired a 10% share in LNG Train 9 for USD 500 million in July 2017.⁶
In January 2018, Sarawak State Government acquired 10% equity in Train 9 in its effort to increase the state government’s involvement in the oil and gas industry in Sarawak. Subsequently the shareholding of Train 9 changed to PETRONAS (70%), JX NOE (10%), PTT Global Thailand (10%) and Sarawak State Government (10%).⁷
On 1 Jan 2017, PETRONAS LNG Train 9 commenced its commercial operations. The plant shipped its’s maiden cargo in December 2016. This boosted the total LNG production total production capacity of MLNG to 30.50 MMTPA. The facility has an estimated life of 20 years i.e., till 2037.^8,9,10
In 2012, Linde AG was awarded an EPCC contract for building a Boil-off Gas (BOG) reliquefaction plant at MLNG. The BOG, which was previously flared, was reliquefied into LNG and returned to the LNG storage tanks. Thereby increasing the LNG production capacity by almost 0.8 MMTPA, as well as significantly minimising greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The MARLIN Project, was handed over to MLNG in November 2017. This engineering marvel helped MLNG recover 7.5 cargoes in 2016 and became the World’s First and Largest onshore Boil-off Gas Re-liquefaction Plant and also the world’s first gas-turbine-driven cryogenic-temperature BOG turbo compressor.^11,12