Oleh/By		:	DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD 
Tempat/Venue 	: 	SONGKHLA, THAILAND 
Tarikh/Date 	: 	22/04/98 
Tajuk/Title  	: 	THE CEREMONY FOR THE SIGNING OF THE 
			HEADS OF AGREEMENT (H.O.A) ON THE 
			GAS SALES AGREEMENT FOR THE JDA GAS 



       It  gives  me  great pleasure to be  here  today  to
  witness  the  signing of the Heads of Agreement  (H.O.A.)
  on  the  Gas  Sales Agreement for the gas to be  produced
  from  the  Malaysia-Thailand Joint Development Area.   It
  was  almost  twenty years ago when the  idea  to  jointly
  develop  the  hydrocarbon resources  in  the  overlapping
  Joint Development Area or J.D.A. was first mooted.   Even
  though  it  took  some  time for  the  two  countries  to
  resolve  and  agree  on  an  appropriate  arrangement  to
  jointly  exploit the hydrocarbon resources in the J.D.A.,
  steady   progress  has  been  achieved  along  the   way,
  especially  after  the Production Sharing  Contracts  for
  the  Blocks in the J.D.A. were awarded in 1994.   I  have
  been  made  to understand that substantial gas  reserves,
  amounting  to  some  10 trillion cubic  feet,  have  been
  discovered  in  the J.D.A., making it viable  to  proceed
  with commercial development and production.
  
  2.     The   signing   of  the  H.O.A.  today   therefore
  represents  a  significant milestone with regard  to  the
  progress  and  development of the  J.D.A.  which  is  the
  first  of  such  a unique joint cooperation  between  two
  countries  based on a win-win concept.   While  this  key
  development  would  further strengthen  and  enhance  the
  bilateral relationship between our two nations,  it  will
  also  stand  out  as a precedent that  such  approach  is
  indeed   workable  as  a  means  to  resolve  territorial
  disputes.
  
  3.     The   signing   of   this  agreement   marks   the
  commencement of an integrated development of  the  J.D.A.
  project  where gas production will commence by  mid-2001.
  The  natural gas from the fields offshore will be  landed
  onshore  through  a  pipeline for  processing  by  a  Gas
  Separation Plant (G.S.P.) in Songkhla for use by the end-
  users  in  the power, industrial, commercial as  well  as
  residential  sectors.  These  infrastructure  development
  projects,  namely the pipeline project  to  be  known  as
  Trans-Thailand-Malaysia Pipeline System (T.T.M.) and  the
  G.S.P.  will  be  jointly developed and operated  by  the
  Petroleum  Authority of Thailand (P.A.T.)  and  Petroliam
  Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS).
  
  4.    Offshore, the T.T.M. pipeline will be extended from
  Songkhla  and connected to the Peninsular Gas Utilisation
  (P.G.U.)  pipeline at Changlun in Kedah, marking  another
  major  step  towards realising the trans-ASEAN  Gas  Grid
  project.   Indeed, Malaysia's P.G.U. project has provided
  the  building  block for the realisation  of  the  trans-
  ASEAN  Gas  Grid project and the T.T.M. pipeline  project
  will  certainly  serve  as the much  needed  and  awaited
  linkage  to  bring  the  ASEAN  Gas  Grid  project   into
  reality.
  
  5.    The  unfolding  of  events over  the  last  several
  months   has  demonstrated  and  emphasised  the   inter-
  connection  and  inter-dependency  of  economies  in  the
  region, especially among ASEAN member countries.   Today,
  this  inter-dependency has become even more  critical  as
  we  join  our efforts to overcome the challenges  we  are
  facing.   In  this regard, the joint cooperation  by  our
  two  national oil companies to undertake this  integrated
  project  is  certainly timely and welcomed to provide  an
  additional   impetus  to  revitalise  the  economies   of
  Thailand  and  Malaysia which have been affected  by  the
  regional  economic and financial crises.  This spirit  of
  joint  cooperation, which also comes under the Indonesia-
  Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle framework, stands as  a
  testimony  to  the "prosper-thy-neighbour" philosophy  we
  have been advocating.
  
  6.    The implementation of this project will serve as  a
  catalyst  for industrial development in Southern Thailand
  and  the Northern part of Malaysia.  As proven in  Kertih
  in   Malaysia,   the  establishment  of   the   necessary
  infrastructure will attract investments, both  local  and
  foreign,  especially in the related downstream industries
  which  will  help  to  transform  Southern  Thailand  and
  Northern  Malaysia into a new industrial  and  commercial
  area.    Concurrently,  this  development  will  generate
  employment opportunities which will particularly  benefit
  the peoples in Southern Thailand and Northern Malaysia.
  
  7.    A  large  and important infrastructure  project  of
  this  nature  would  certainly require close  cooperation
  and  coordination by and between the relevant authorities
  of    the    two   countries   to   ensure   its   smooth
  implementation.   I would like to take  this  opportunity
  to   call   upon   the  relevant  authorities   of   both
  Governments  to  extend their support and cooperation  to
  the  project  for  the  benefit  of  the  people  of  our
  countries.
  
  8.    To  conclude, I would like to congratulate all  the
  parties  involved  for  their efforts  and  contributions
  towards  materialising this project.  I hope this  spirit
  of  co-operation and mutual understanding  will  continue
  to  prevail  in  the  course of  the  implementation  and
  operation  of  the  project and wish  the  project  every
  success.

 




 
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