'Malaysia will not be net importer of natural gas yet'

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will not be a net importer of natural gas
so soon as the local consumption is much less than the amount of the
country's liquefied natural gas (LNG) export, Gas Malaysia Bhd chairman
Datuk Hamzah Bakar said.

Furthermore, Petroliam Nasional Bhd
(Petronas) is aggressively giving out more exploration contracts
including marginal fields to ensure more supply from local resources.

He noted that Petronas is building LNG import terminals in Sungai Udang
in Malacca, Pengerang in Johor and Lahad Datu in Sabah to cope with
demand for gas to fire up the domestic economy.

"If you look at
Malaysia's position, we are exporting LNG. A lot are exported, while
for the local consumption, the bulk is in the power."


Last week, International Energy Agency executive
director Maria van der Hoeven said Malaysia is set to emulate Indonesia
in the near term, as more gas is needed at home to help fuel its
voracious local population.

Meanwhile, Gas Malaysia managing director Datuk Muhammad Noor Hamid
expects the company to post good results for the year ending December
31 2012 despite a slight drop in its earnings in the first quarter.

Gas Malaysia's earnings fell 53.5 per cent to RM34.54 million in the first three months from RM74.41 million a year ago.