Bandar Seri Begawan - Brunei National Petroleum Company Sendirian Berhad (PetroleumBRUNEI), through its subsidiary PB Logistics Sdn Bhd today entered a joint venture agreement with Kokuka Sangyo (KSK) and ITOCHU Corporation (ITOCHU) to form a company for the Brunei Methanol Tanker Project.

The signing ceremony took place at PetroleumBRUNEI’s office in the presence of the Minister of Energy and also Chairman of PetroleumBRUNEI, Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Utama Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Yahya bin Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Haji Bakar, who was the guest of honour at the event.

The Minister of Finance II, Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Setia Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Abdul Rahman bin Haji Ibrahim was also present in his capacity as Deputy Chairman of PetroleumBRUNEI.

Haji Mohd Ja’afar bin Haji Awang Bakar, CEO of PetroleumBRUNEI signed the Joint Venture Agreement on behalf of PB Logistics Sdn Bhd while Mr Hiroaki Yoshikawa, President of Kokuka Sangyo (KSK) and Mr Keita Ishii, General Manager Organic Chemicals Department, ITOCHU Corporation (ITOCHU) signed on behalf of their respective companies.

The Brunei Methanol Tanker Project is the first direct spin-off resulting from the Brunei Methanol Company (BMC). PB Logistics Sdn Bhd is the sole local and majority shareholder in this Project, owning a 50% share.

KSK, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company (MGC) holds a 30% share while ITOCHU holds 20%.

The main business of this joint venture will be to transport methanol produced by BMC to its customers. PB Logistics and KSK have acquired a newly built dedicated chemical tanker from Ningbo Dongfang Shipyard in China to do this. The vessel which is 5500 metric tons of deadweight(DWT) in size will be operated by KSK once it is commissioned in 2010.

Crew manning will initially consist of KSK and Bruneian crew in order to expedite skills and knowledge transfer. Bruneians will also have the opportunity to work on other KSK vessels in order to gain more work exposure.

Agreements will shortly be signed with MGC, offtaker of the Brunei-produced methanol from BMC, to be the charterer of the vessel.

Hj Mohd Ja’afar also highlighted the Bruneian content of the Brunei Methanol Tanker Project, in which it will increase the number of ocean-going vessels flying Brunei’s flag from eight to nine, thus increasing the activity of Brunei vessels in international waters.

“This project marks a significant milestone as it diversifies the scope of Brunei’s shipping industry from only LNG to now include Methanol shipping. This means local job opportunities for crew manning of the vessel. In addition to this, we have taken steps to ensure that transfer of skills and technology are completed within seven years so that the ship management can be handed over to a local company.

Financing and insurance coverage will be provided by local institutions in order to help liquidity and ensure revenue to the country is maximized. Opportunities within the Brunei Methanol Tanker Project will provide these local institutions with additional business scope. There will also be opportunities to gain experience in financing and insuring technical projects of this nature. Hj Mohd Ja’afar added.

PetroleumBRUNEI will continue to explore other opportunities arising from the Brunei Darussalam Methanol project.