551 licences issued since Gas Distribution (Amendment) Bill 2023 enforcement

KUCHING (May 22): A total of 551 licences have been issued to Sarawak’s gas industry players since the enforcement of the Gas Distribution (Amendment) Bill 2023, said Datuk Ibrahim Baki.

The Deputy Minister for Utility (Sarawak Energy and Petros) said the regulatory measures were implemented following the amendments to the Distribution of Gas Ordinance (DGO) 2016, which came into effect last year.

“A total of 14 licences have been issued to upstream industry players and 537 licences to downstream players under DGO 2016 to operate in Sarawak,” he said in response to a question raised by Safiee Ahmad (GPS-Daro) in the State Legislative Assembly here today.

In addition to issuing licences, he said the ministry also took enforcement action by issuing 10 non-compliance notices to gas distributors operating without valid licences.

Responding to a supplementary question regarding the types of licences issued, Ibrahim explained that under Section 7 of DGO 2016, there are seven categories of licences.

The first covers the import of gas for purposes such as regasification, processing, treatment, separation, utilisation, or distribution within Sarawak.

The second category involves the regasification of gas; the third covers the treatment, separation, or processing of gas; while the fourth category pertains to the transportation of gas.

The construction, management, or maintenance of gas pipelines or other equipment used for gas distribution comes under the fifth category; the sixth category is for the supply of gas; and the seventh allows for the retail of gas.

For those operating without a valid licence, Ibrahim emphasised that under Section 21A of DGO 2016, offenders may be fined up to RM20 million for a first offence.

For subsequent offences, the fine can increase up to 10 times the original amount.