OPPOSITION STATE GROWING

AM tempted to raise my voice about the oil industry in the country. It is an open secret that the oil producing states in Malaysia are Terengganu, Sarawak and Sabah.

The first two states are doing alright though they, like Sabah, received only 5 percent oil royalty. The 95 percent belongs to Petronas (or at least that's the perception of a lot of people).

Thus, Upko and my boss had been very vocal, insisting that a full fledged oil factory is established in Sabah, rather than chanelling Sabah gas to Bintulu. My oh my, now, Kedah which is under opposition government, scored big with this news. One of the often repeated reasons why there is no oil factory in Sabah is the mammoth cost it entails. Now, Kedah shows funding is not a problem at all.... sigh

MALAYSIA'S LARGEST OIL REFINERY IN KEDAH

KUALA LUMPUR, July 15 — Kedah’s economy received a major boost today with the launch of the largest oil refinery project in Malaysia.

The Merapoh oil refinery in Yan, Kedah will cost US$10 billion (RM35.7 billion) and have a refining capacity of 350,000 barrels per day, nearly twice the capacity of the country’s second largest refinery in Melaka.

The refinery will be developed by Merapoh Resources Corporation and funded by international investors.

The Merapoh refinery will refine crude oil sourced from the Middle East for export, mainly to China. MORE