KL, Thailand to start pipeline project

KL, Thailand to start pipeline project

KUALA LUMPUR: A stalled gas pipeline joint venture between
Malaysia and Thailand is expected to finally take off in April, a
senior executive of Malaysia's state energy firm Petronas said
Wednesday.

"They (the Thai authorities) are expected to give the green
light by the end of March. We are confident of getting that,"
Muri Muhammad, Petronas's vice-president was quoted as saying by
Bernama news agency.

Thailand and Malaysia are expected to start pumping gas from a
seabed site along their border in the Gulf of Thailand in the
final quarter of 2003 and not in mid-2002 as originally
projected, he said.

The plan has been stalled by strong opposition from Thai
environmental groups who say the pipeline will destroy fishing
grounds and cause other ecological damage. -- AFP