By an OGJ correspondent
NICOSIA, May 12 -- Petroliam Nasional Bhd. (Petronas) subsidiary Malaysia LNG Tiga Sdn. Bhd. (MLNG Tiga) has signed a 7-year, $3.2 billion deal to supply as much as 2 million tonnes/year (mty) of LNG to South Korea's Korea Gas Corp (Kogas).
The LNG will be shipped starting this month by tankers owned and operated by Petronas unit Malaysian International Shipping Corp. Bhd. (MISC) from MLNG Tiga to Kogas terminals at Incheon, Pyeong Taek, and Tong Young in South Korea.
The sales and purchase agreement was signed Thursday by MLNG Tiga Chairman Tan Sri Mohd Hassan Marican, who is also president and CEO of Petronas, and Kogas Chairman Kim Myng-Kyu in Kuala Lumpur.
The agreement marks the fifth supply contract concluded by MLNG Tiga, with more than 6 mty of LNG committed to buyers from South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. MLNG Tiga also is negotiating with other potential buyers for the plant's remaining output.
The MLNG Tiga plant consists of two liquefaction trains with a production capacity of 3.4 mty each. The first train came on stream in March while the second is scheduled to begin commercial operations by October.
The MLNG Tiga plant is housed in Petronas's giant LNG complex at Bintulu, officially opened on Thursday by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad (OGJ Online, May 7, 2003).
The Bintulu complex, which also houses two other LNG plants, is set to become the world's largest integrated LNG facility with a combined production capacity of about 23 mty.
MLNG Tiga is a joint venture of Petronas 60%, the Sarawak state government 10%, Shell Gas Holdings (Malaysia) Ltd. 15%, Nippon Oil LNG (Netherlands) BV 10%, and Diamond Gas Netherlands BV 5%.