OIL, GAS INDUSTRIAL PARK IN SIPITANG EXPECTED TO CREATE MORE THAN 34,000 JOBS

Oil, Gas Industrial Park in Sipitang

April 1, 2011, Friday KOTA KINABALU: Plans are afoot to build an oil and gas industrial park in Sipitang that is expected to create more than 34,000 jobs and contribute more than RM10 billion to the State GDP, according to Industrial Development Minister Datuk Raymond Tan.

The State Government has identified an area with the ideal attributes and logistics for developing the Sipitang Oil and Gas Industrial Park (SOGIP), Tan said at the launch of the first annual Deepwater Offshore Conference & Exhibition World Asia 2011 at Nexus Resort Karambunai yesterday.

“The industries expected to be placed in SOGIP when it is fully developed will contribute greatly to the GDP of Sabah about RM10.62 billion or about 36.61 percent of the current GDP of Sabah at RM29 billion,” he said.

About 34,350 jobs will be created directly or indirectly by the industries, he added.

Tan said Malaysia has targeted Gross National Income (GNI) growth of 5.9 percent per annum and achieving this economic growth is expected to raise consumption by 3 percent, which will have a knock-on effect on the oil, gas and energy sector.

He said the increased consumption will require an additional two gigawatts of installed capacity to be built at a cost of RM9.6 billion, creating an estimated 2,500 jobs and adding RM11.2 billion to GNI.

“The additional transmission and distribution of this energy will create a further RM5.6 billion in GNI and require an investment of RM12.4 billion.

“In the downstream sector this increased consumption will boost GNI by RM1.5 billion and create 3,200 jobs. An estimated 90 new petrol stations will also need to be built at a total cost of RM3.2 billion.

“The most important enabler to ensure the successful realisation of the mentioned business opportunities is adequate supply of qualified domestic human capital.

“The government has to increase the supply of graduates in the next decade to staff the approximately 21,000 new jobs created at or above graduate level by 2020,” he said.

Tan added it is an exciting time for the oil and gas industry in Malaysia, since Sabah has 11 trillion cubic feet of gas and 1.5 billion barrels of oil in reserves.

It has been announced at the convocation of the Institut Teknologi Petroleum Petronas (Instep) here recently that Petronas will build a training school in Kimanis in two years. About 7,000 have graduated from Instep as skilled petroleum technicians and engineers since its inception in 1988.