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