Pengerang terminal Phase 2 plan likely to come out in July

KUALA LUMPUR: Dialog Group Bhd expects the development plan for Phase 2 of the RM5 billion Pengerang Independent Deepwater Petroleum Terminal (PIDPT) in Johor to be finalised by July this year, said its co-founder and executive chairman Dr Ngau Boon Keat.

“We have not finalised [the plan for] Phase 2 yet. We are still working on it. We probably will be able to put out the plan sometime in July,” he told The Edge Financial Daily on the sidelines of a briefing to announce the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year 2014 event last week.

Construction of Phase 1 of PIDPT — a joint-venture between Dialog, Royal Vopak of the Netherlands and Johor State Secretary Inc — is on schedule for completion by the end of this year. Phase 1 of the project was initially slated to finish by the first quarter of 2014.

Operations have commenced at Phase 1A of the project, which has received its third shipment. Phase 1A comprises 25 tanks with total storage capacity of 432,000 cu m.

The entire Phase 1 development covers 150 acres (60.69ha) of reclaimed land, with an initial storage capacity of 1.3 million cu m, together with six berths, at a cost of RM2 billion.

On the contribution of PIDPT to the group, Ngau said: “We won’t be able to talk about the financial contribution, but it’s going to be positive.”

It has been reported that the entire PIDPT development would take another 10 to 15 years to be fully completed.

On the delay of Petroliam Nasional Bhd’s (Petronas) US$27 billion (RM87.21 billion) Pengerang Integrated Complex (PIC), Ngau said the delay is understandable due to the massive investment portfolio.

“It is such a huge project, which is at about RM90 billion … I don’t think we should use the word ‘delay’, it’s just that they are rescheduling it (to be ready for start-up) to 2019,” said Ngau, who had a stint in Petronas before he founded Dialog in 1984.

The national oil company has twice delayed the Final Investment Decision (FID) date for the refinery and petrochemical integrated development (Rapid) project, which forms a key component of PIC. Rapid’s original start-up date was end-2016.

Still, Ngau noted that it would be a boon for the PIDPT project if Rapid progresses as planned as it would help attract international downstream players in the oil and gas industry to set their foothold there, so demand for the group’s storage facility would also rise.

On its legal proceedings with Tanjung Langsat Port Sdn Bhd (TLP), Ngau said: “The fire did not happen during the construction, but only after the handover … We will defend our case.”

Dialog has seen its share price fall since April 10 on investor concerns over a notice of arbitration filed by TLP over the oil terminal project in Johor. TLP had alleged it had suffered losses and damages caused by a fire at part of the plant which occurred on Aug 17, 2008, after completion of the project and handover of the facility by Dialog as the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning contractor.

The counter has fallen by 2.7% to close at RM3.59 last Friday from RM3.69 on April 10.

Ngau is representing Malaysia to compete against the top entrepreneurs from 60 other countries for the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year (WEOY) Award in Monte Carlo from June 4 to 8 this year.

“It’s more like a competition for Malaysia against other countries.

“When you are successful, [you] don’t forget to give back … It may not be the same people that have helped me, but I could help others and make the world a better one,” Ngau said.


This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on April 21, 2014.