Petronas seals gas deal

Petronas seals gas deal

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysia LNG Tiga Sdn Bhd, a unit of national oil company Petronas, said Tuesday it had sealed a 20- year pact to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. Ltd. (JAPEX).

The contract was for the supply of up to 1.5 million tons of LNG a year starting in 2001, Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) said in a statement.

The LNG would be supplied using LNG tankers owned by Petronas Tankers Sdn Bhd, Petronas said. The company did not elaborate on the value of the contract.

Malaysia LNG Tiga is a joint-venture between Petronas, state government of eastern Sarawak, Japan's Nippon Oil Co. Ltd., Occidental LNG (Malaysia) Ltd. and Shell Gas B.V.

Located in Bintulu, in Malaysia's resource-rich eastern state of Sarawak, the project is designed to produce 6.8 million tons yearly, Petronas said.

The statement added that JAPEX, a 65.74 percent unit of Japan National Oil Corp., has constructed a 250-kilometer (150-mile) gas trunkline across the Honshu island from Niigata to Sendai. The trunkline started operation this year.