The SAMUR Project
A signing ceremony was held on October 7, 2011 for the the Basic and Detailed Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Commissioning (BEPCC) Alliance contract for SAMUR between Petronas Chemicals Fertilizer Sabah Sdn Bhd and the consortium of contractors comprising Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd, Apex Energy Sdn Bhd and Pt Rekayasa Industri. This is one of the many mega projects for Sabah which will bring great benefits, as quoted by our Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman, who witnessed the signing ceremony.
Under the BEPCC Alliance contract, the project will be carried out on the basis of a cooperative relationship between Project Owner and the Consortium, focusing on delivering the best and most cost effective manner and with the shortest possible time to complete the project.
What is SAMUR Project?
Sabah Ammonia Urea (SAMUR) Project is a project by Petronas Chemicals Group Berhad (PCG) to build an Ammonia Urea Complex in Sipitang Oil & Gas Industrial Park (SOGIP), Sabah. With estimated development cost is US Dollar 1.5 billion, this project is one of the strategic developments in supporting the oil and gas industry for Sabah.
The Complex would be made up of an ammonia plant, a urea plant and a granulation plant, as well as integrated utility units and jetty facilities. The ammonia plant will produce 2,100 metric tons per day (MTPD) of liquid ammonia while the urea plant will produce 3,500 MTPD of granulated urea.
Construction is expected to start in the second quarter of 2012 with completion targeted in 2015, mega projects consume a lot of time. But this project along with other oil and gas projects in Sabah, are said to worth an estimated RM45 billion.
Visualizing the benefits and developments
Okay, so I have explained in general about SAMUR project, now lets visualize what can be beneficial for the state in the future. Sabah Energy Corporation (SEC) is the one responsible to choose and create the consortium, and through the consortium supervision there would be greater participation chances for Sabah companies during the construction and post construction stages.
The consortium’s technical expertise and cutting edge technology will be the key element to ensure that the Sabah fertiliser plant would be competitive in the global environment. The project will also spur the growth of supporting industries, such as infrastructure development, logistics, housing, hotel, healthcare and education, among others. In time, Sipitang will be transformed into a place bustling with economic activities, contributing to the growth and development of Sabah’s economy.
Those are promising view of the future, but it is very unclear now on how this will be rolled out and go as it was planned to be. So its too early to say anything right now, not until they successfully finished construction phase and began to produce the intended product. Hiccups will appear along the timeline, let see how the consortium handle such situations.
I am confident that, in time, Sipitang in Sabah would be transformed into a place bustling with economic activities, which will contribute to the continued growth and development of Sabah’s economy ~ Datuk Wan Zulkiflee
