Petronas says fire at Sabah-Sarawak pipeline under control

KUALA LUMPUR: Petronas said a fire on the Sabah-Sarawak Gas Pipeline in the early hours of Monday was under control.

“Petronas confirms that a pipe rupture and a fire incident have occurred at the Sabah-Sarawak Gas Pipeline,” the company said in a statement.

It said no injuries were reported.

Petronas operates the 500-km long pipeline that runs across Sabah and Sarawak.

It is not clear if the company halted operations of the pipeline, which carries gas from the Kebabangan field in Sabah state to Bintulu in Sarawak where Petronas operates one of the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) production facilities.

Earlier, a fire and rescue department official told Reuters authorities were investigating the blaze.

“The explosion is still under investigation,” Sarawak fire department director Khirudin Drahman told Reuters.

“Due to communication problems and the remoteness (of the site), our team was late in relaying information to our system. But Petronas’ ERT (emergency response team) brought the explosion and a small fire under control,” he said.

Petronas last shut down the pipeline in May for maintenance. - FMT