Energy & Utilities
From The Report: Sarawak 2015
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Blessed with an abundance of hydro, coal and gas resources that one would be hard pressed to find elsewhere, Sarawak has a comparative advantage that is being leveraged to produce bulk power at competitive prices in order to attract capital-intensive investments in heavy industry. Already a net exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), new hydroelectric projects position the state with the potential to become a central provider of power in the proposed ASEAN Power Grid, and supply agreements have already been signed with  neighbouring Indonesia, while discussions with Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Brunei Darussalam are ongoing. Malaysia’s vision for 2020 calls for Sarawak to attain the status of a high-income state by the turn of the decade via transitioning its production base away from basic commodities into more value-added manufacturing. Further unlocking sustainable and competitively priced energy is critical to achieving this goal.

This chapter contains interviews with Torstein Dale Sjotveit, CEO, Sarawak Energy; and Zulkifle Osman, Managing Director, Sarawak Hidro.

 

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Sarawak has potential to be a major energy supplier
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Blessed with an abundance of hydro, coal and gas resources that one would be hard pressed to find elsewhere, the state of Sarawak has a comparative advantage that is successfully being leveraged to produce bulk power at competitive prices in order to attract capital-intensive investments in heavy industry. Already a net exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), new hydroelectric projects position the state with the potential to become a central provider of power in the proposed ASEAN Power…

Analysis

Sarawak’s government aims for solutions to meet local demand for power
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At present, there are no formal mechanisms within Sarawak allowing for small industries and homes that produce renewable power for their own consumption to sell any surplus power generated to the state’s main grid. Some critics believe this counters the government’s principles of actively encouraging the adoption of green energy solutions wherever possible. SWEET DEAL: In Peninsular Malaysia, national utility Tenaga Nasional has been running a feed-in-tariff (FIT) programme since 2011,…

Analysis

Sarawak has plenty of potential to serve as a regional power supplier
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Given Sarawak’s budding power generation potential and the appeal of the cost competitiveness and sustainability of hydropower, the state government is in the midst of securing power exchange agreements with neighbouring territories. It is also looking to emulate the example of Norway, which has positioned itself as Scandinavia’s leading hydropower generator and utilises its production base to accrue fiscal revenues from selling electricity to nearby Sweden, Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands. An…

Interview

OBG talks to Torstein Dale Sjotveit, CEO, Sarawak Energy
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Interview:Torstein Dale Sjotveit How will the power supply meet higher demand from heavy industries during phase two of the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE)? TORSTEIN DALE SJOTVEIT: Demand from the industries already present within SCORE will undoubtedly increase, but we are also driving more demand due to the promotion of SCORE to new customers and industries. The majority of power that is currently being produced is hydropower, hence it is sustainable and priced at a globally…

Analysis

Sarawak’s palm oil producers to benefit from a move into downstream
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Supplying more than one-third of the world’s total crude palm oil (CPO), according to US Energy Information Administration figures, Malaysia has traditionally used only a small fraction of what is produced as a feedstock for biodiesel, opting instead to export most of its output. Slowly and surely, however, local biofuel production has been on the upswing, with domestic production growing from an estimated 1000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2011 to 6000 bpd in 2013. This trend looks set to continue…

Analysis

At the centre: The state is at the heart of new projects that will transform the sector
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According to the “Malaysia Energy Statistics Handbook 2014”, Malaysia is endowed with 98.31trn standard cu feet (scf) of proven natural gas reserves, of which Sarawak accounts for around half, with 50.12trn scf, and neighbouring Sabah with 13.21trn scf. Offshore basins in the two eastern Malaysian states have become the focal point of exploration and production in recent years, as western Malaysia faces a steady decline in production from its maturing offshore oil and gas fields. In…

Interview

OBG talks to Zulkifle Osman, Managing Director, Sarawak Hidro
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Interview:Zulkifle Osman How has the Bakun Hydroelectric Project been progressing in recent years? What is the current supply focus for the dam? ZULKIFLE OSMAN: The Bakun Hydroelectric Project is now complete; with all eight turbines successfully installed and commissioned, it is officially the largest hydroelectric power station in South-east Asia, with the capacity to produce up to 2400 MW of power. The power purchase agreement with SESCO was inked in June 2011, and we have been transmitting…

Analysis

Unexplored areas in Sarawak may hold vast potential for energy
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The case could be made that no other state in Malaysia is of as much current and historical importance to the country’s on and offshore hydrocarbons industry than Sarawak. The Sarawak basin is one of Malaysia’s richest geological areas for hydrocarbons development, particularly natural gas. It was here that Malaysia’s first oil well, the Canada Hill Well, an onshore field near Miri, was discovered and drilled in 1910. A half-century later, in 1960, Sarawak’s waters became the host…