Pipeline Ready

Kuantan Terminals Sdn Bhd, the wholly owned subsidiary of Petronas, has completed installation work on common pipe-rack and tank farm facilities. The eight km pipeline links Gebeng Industrial area to shippers premises direct with the 250,000 sq metre central tankage facilities located near Kuantan Port.

Currently three pipelines are being installed to handle acrylic products and propane dehyro. Acrylic products are being produced by BASF Petronas Chemical Sdn Bhd. The German-Malaysian joint venture company will be producing some 340,000 tonnes of various types of acrylic acid annually.

The pipelines will be an important medium for the joint company to move raw materials and semi-finished products between its plant in the Gebeng Industrial Estate Phase III and tank farm facilities near the port.

The German petrochemical giant will be utilising two of the three pipe-rack developed by KTSB.Meanwhile, the third common pipe-rack, which draws 1.5 km will be utilised by Petronas for the transport of propane dehyro which is considered a cheaper energy source than naptha.

The propane dehydro plant is being developed by Petronas at a 81ha site in the Gebeng Industrial Estate III.

Some 300,000 tonnes per annum of propane dehydro is estimated to be supplied to various users in the Industrial area as one of the energy sources for the industries located within the Gebeng Industrial Estate.

"With the commissioning of the common-user pipelines, we are confident that more petrochemical giants will look into the possibility of setting up their facilities in this area. To further support the role of KTSB we have offered a 29-year lease period to attract more operators to industrial estate in the state of Pahang," said the Executive Director/Chief Operating Officer of Kuantan Port Consortium Sdn Bhd, Dato' Haji Mohamed Awang Tera.