Petronas continues safety measures following Tuesday pipeline fire

LAWAS: The country’s oil corporation Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) continues to conduct blowdown — a process to fully remove residual gas in the affected section of the Sabah-Sarawak Gas Pipeline (SSGP) — as a safety measure prior to the commencement of the repair work.

Scheduled today from noon to 3pm, the works will take place near Merapok here. Relevant authorities comprising the police, Fire and Rescue Department and Lawas District Office have been notified.

On this note, Petronas urges the public not to be alarmed upon hearing loud noises throughout the process.

“The removed gas is harmless and the process will not affect the environment or public health as it is a controlled release,” a statement from the group’s Sarawak Regional Office said yesterday.

It assured the public that investigation was on-going, with a forensics team from Occupational Safety and Health Department (DOSH), Putrajaya present at the scene to carry out the required assessments.

“In addition, we will continue to engage the communities around the incident area and provide them with the information on the current situation,” Petronas stated.

The fire incident at the SSGP occurred around 2am on Tuesday here, about 135km from the Sabah Oil and Gas Terminal (SOGT) in Kimanis, Sabah.

Petronas affirmed that every necessary measure had been taken to ensure that the site of the incident would be secure and safe.

“We adhere at all times to stringent safety measures in line with international standards at all of our operations,” it stressed.