Malaysia’s national energy company Petronas plans to start natural gas production at its Pegaga field offshore Sarawak around January 20, industry sources said. The start-up has been delayed due to high mercury levels detected in the field. According to the sources, Petronas had notified customers that it had set up an interim mercury unit (MRU) at the field, which would be commissioned this week, earlier than the initial plan for the middle of January.
The Pegaga gas field supplies feedgas to the Bintulu LNG project. Shell, which owns a 20% interest in Pegaga, said in March that the field is expected to start producing gas in the fourth quarter of 2021. However, Petronas requested term buyers for delays and cancellations of November 2021-January 2022 deliveries after high mercury levels were discovered in early September. Mercury could damage downstream process equipment and even cause fires.
