Regional LNG: Petronas seeks lower port charges for LNG

Malaysia's oil and gas company Petronas is talking with Bintulu Port Sdn Bhd to lower the port's charges for its tankers carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) to export markets, the national news agency Bernama reported Monday.

Petronas chief executive officer Hassan Marican was quoted as saying that the port now charges 800,000 ringgit per tanker leaving the port, which is the highest in the world.

With more LNG producers joining the market to meet growing demand worldwide, lowering port charges could help ensure Malaysia 's LNG exports remain competitive, he said at the Malaysia LNG Sdn Bhd (MLNG) complex in Bintulu.

With 400 shipments per year, mainly to buyers in Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, the port earns some 320 million ringgit (84.2 million US dollars) from MLNG alone.

"The port charges we pay at the receiving end to Tokyo Gas and Electric Co. are much lower," Hassan added.

He said that with the LNG industry becoming more and more competitive and with the emergence of new players, it would be very much in the national interest to lower the port charges.

"It will take time but we are going for a win-win situation," the Petronas official said when asked about the chances of the port lowering its charges.

Malaysia has been producing LNG for the last 20 years and to meet the growing demand, MLNG, majority-owned by Petronas, put into operation its third plant here three weeks ago.

The new plant, to be opened by Prime Minister Datuk Mahathir Mohamad on May 8, would make Petronas the largest producer of LNG among oil companies in the world.

Malaysia's production of 16.5 million tons of LNG, however, is the third largest in the world.

LNG earned 12.4 billion ringgit (3.263 billion dollars) last year, matching up 5.6 percent of the Gross National Product (GNP). (*)