That’s why, NGV users mostly from Klang Valley. Klang Valley also contributed the most NGV stations in Malaysia. Those who are not from Klang Valley, government already initiate and comitted to build another 200 NGV gas stations until 2009 including major cities in Penang and Johor.

Even no rebate, just go for it.

Taken from MyMesra website.

NGV STATIONS

KLANG VALLEY

Previously, I saw an NGV installer advertisement on Federal Highway, just opposite Sg Way Industrial Area. Forgot the name. Now, it’s no longer there.

Don’t worry, you’re not alone in searching NGV installer. There’s many of them, in response to the fuel price hike.

I’m planning to build a comprehensive list for an easier reference.

Watch this space!

Tags: ngv+installer, ngv+malaysia, ngv+selangor, ngv+kuala+lumpur, ngv+kl, ngv+klang+valley

Dear all,

After reading all the chain mails and blogs, I feel called to reply, because of the relentless attacks and allegations — most of which are inaccurate or baseless — against PETRONAS.

PETRONAS’ STAFF SALARY & BONUS

1) The salaries paid to PETRONAS’ employees are not as high as people think. At best, they are just industry average. And these are not attractive enough for some who left PETRONAS to find work at other companies (mainly from the Middle East) which are willing to pay more. Why do they pay more? The oil and gas industry worldwide has been facing acute shortage of qualified or experienced personnel, so most companies are willing to pay lots of money to entice and pinch staff from their competitors.

Bonus? There has NEVER been a bonus amounting to 6 months or 12 months throughout the 33 years. On average, it is 2 months. But don’t ever think we don’t deserve it. We more than deserve it. A lot of us work really hard, some in the most extreme of conditions. Those who have been to and worked in northern Sudan, for example, would testify that it’s like working in a huge blower oven. Southern Sudan, on the other hand, is almost all swamps and mud. Imagine having to go through that kind of heat, or waddling in muddy swamps, day in and day out.

QUALITY OF CRUDE & REFINED PRODUCTS

2) Malaysia produces about 600,000 barrels of crude oil per day (and about 100,000 barrels condensate). Of this crude volume, 339,000 barrels are refined locally for local consumption. The rest is exported (and yes, because it has lower sulphur content it fetches higher prices).

Malaysia also imports about 230,000 barrels of crude oil per day, mainly from the Middle East, to be refined here. This crude oil contains higher sulphur and is less expensive (so the country gains more by exporting our crudes). In Malaysia, this crude is processed by PETRONAS at its second refinery in Melaka, and also by Shell at its Port Dickson refinery.

Different refineries are built and configurated to refine different types of crude. And each crude type yields different percentage of products (diesel, gasoline, kerosene, cooking gas etc) per barrel.

But most importantly, products that come out at the end of the refining process have the same good quality regardless of the crude types. That’s why PETRONAS, Shell and Exxon Mobil share the same pipeline to transport the finished products from their refineries to a distribution centre in the Klang Valley. The three companies collect the products at this centre accordingly to be distributed to their respective distribution networks. What makes PETRONAS’ petrol different from Shell’s, for example, is the additive that each company adds.

PETRONAS’ ROLE, FUNCTION & CONTRIBUTION

3) A lot of people also do not understand the role and function of PETRONAS, which is essentially a company, a business entity, which operates on a commercial manner, to mainly generate income and value for its shareholder. In this case, PETRONAS’ shareholder is the Government.

In 1974, when PETRONAS was set up, the Government gave PETRONAS RM10 million (peanuts, right?) as seed capital. From 1974 to 2007, PETRONAS made RM570 billion in accumulated profits, and returned to the Government a total of RM335.7 billion. That is about 65% of the profits. That means for every RM1 that PETRONAS makes, 65 sen goes back to the Government.

Last year, PETRONAS made a pre-tax profit of RM86.8 billion. The amount given back to the Government (in royalty, dividends, corporate income tax, petroleum products income tax and export duty) was RM52.3 billion. The rest of the profit was used to pay off minority interests and taxes in foreign countries (about RM7.8 billion – PETRONAS now operates in more than 30 countries), and the remaining RM26.7 billion was reinvested. The amount reinvested seems a lot, but the oil and gas industry is technology- and capital-intensive. Costs have gone up exponentially in the last couple of years. Previously, to drill a well, it cost about US$3 million; now it costs US$7 million. The use of rigs was US$200,000 a day a couple of years ago; now it costs US$600,000 a day.

A lot of people also do not realise that the amount returned by PETRONAS to the Government makes up 35% of the Government’s total annual income, to be used by the Government for expenditures, development, operations, and yes, for the various subsidies. That means for every RM1 the Government makes, 35 sen is contributed by PETRONAS.

So, instead of asking what happens to PETRIONAS’ money or profits, people should be questioning how the money paid by PETRONAS to the Government is allocated.

CRUDE EXPORTS & FUEL PRICES

4) A lot of people also ask, why Malaysia exports its crude oil. Shouldn’t we just stop exporting and sell at cheaper prices to local refiners? If Malaysia is an oil exporting country, why can’t we sell petrol or diesel at cheaper prices like other oil producing countries in the Middle East?

I guess I don’t have to answer the first couple of questions. It’s simple economics, and crude oil is a global commodity.

Why can’t we sell petrol and diesel at lower prices like in the Middle East? Well, comparing Saudi Arabia and other big producers to Malaysia is like comparing kurma to durian, because these Middle Eastern countries have much, much, much bigger oil and gas reserves.

Malaysia has only 5.4 billion barrels of oil reserves, and about 89 trillion cubic feet of gas. Compare that to Saudi Arabia’s 260 billion barrels of oil and 240 trillion cubic feet of gas.

Malaysia only produces 600,000 barrels per day of oil. Saudi Arabia produces 9 million barrels per day. At this rate, Saudi Arabia’s crude oil sales revenue could amount to US$1.2 billion per day! At this rate, it can practically afford almost everything — free education, healthcare, etc, and subsidies — for its people.

But if we look at these countries closely, they have in the past few years started to come up with policies and strategies designed to prolong their reserves and diversify their income bases. In this sense, Malaysia (and PETRONAS) has had a good head start, as we have been doing this a long time.

Fuel prices in Malaysia is controlled by the Government based on a formula under the Automatic Pricing Mechanism introduced more than a couple of decades ago. It is under this mechanism that the complex calculation of prices is made, based on the actual cost of petrol or diesel, the operating costs, margin for dealers, margin for retail oil companies (including PETRONAS Dagangan Bhd) and the balancing number of duty or subsidy. No retail oil companies or dealers actually make money from the hike of the fuel prices. Oil companies pay for the products at market prices, but have to sell low, so the Government reimburses the difference — thus subsidy.

Subsidy as a concept is OK as long as it benefits the really deserving segment of the population. But there has to be a limit to how much and how long the Government should bear and sustain subsidy. An environment where prices are kept artificially low indefinitely will not do anyone any good. That’s why countries like Indonesia are more pro-active in removing subsidies. Even Vietnam (which is a socialist country, by the way) is selling fuel at market prices.

PETRONAS & TRANSPARENCY

5) I feel I also need to say something on the allegation that PETRONAS is not transparent in terms of its accounts, business transactions etc.

PETRONAS is first and foremost a company, operating under the rules and regulations of the authorities including the Registrar of Companies, and the Securities Commission and Bursa Malaysia for its listed four subsidiaries (PETRONAS Dagangan Bhd, PETRONAS Gas Bhd, MISC Bhd and KLCC Property Holdings Bhd.

PETRONAS the holding company produces annual reports which are made to whomever wants them, and are distributed to many parties and places; including to the library at the Parliament House for perusal and reading pleasure of all Yang Berhormat MPs (if they care to read). PETRONAS also makes the annual report available on its website, for those who bother to look. The accounts are duly audited.

The website also contains a lot of useful information, if people really care to find out. Although PETRONAS is not listed on Bursa Malaysia, for all intents and purposes, it could be considered a listed entity as its bonds and financial papers are traded overseas. This requires scrutiny from investors, and from rating agencies such as Standard & Poor and Moody’s.

BOYCOTT PETRONAS?

6) The last time I checked, this is still a democratic country, where people are free to spend their money wherever they like.

For those who like to see more of the money that they spend go back to the local economy and benefiting their fellow Malaysians, perhaps they should consider sticking to local products or companies.

For those who like to see that the money they spend go back to foreign shareholders of the foreign companies overseas, they should continue buying foreign products.

FINAL WORD (FOR TODAY)

I’m sorry this is rather long, but I just have to convey it. I hope this would help some of you out there understand something. The oil and gas industry, apart from being very capital intensive, is also very complex and volatile. I’m learning new things almost every single day.

Appreciate if you could help to forward this response to as many contacts as possible to counter the subversive proposal out there.

Thank you.

Despite of people complains on how Naza could achive a status of national car, at least Naza come out with it’s Naza Ria NGV version. My earlier posting showed that few of my friends converted their car to NGV, including this guy who owned Naza Ria.

What’s so impressive? Spend RM8 and you can go as far as 150 km. Great isn’t it?

Let me summarize which model has been tested with NGV successfully. However, it’s only based on my observation, whether I’ve seen it or not. If you wanted to know the real succession, you have to visit the NGV installer. Bare in mind that the installation cost is high. But no need to rush for petrol if it ever increase again to probably RM4 per litre.

Many people started to switch to NGV but have to sacrifice the boot. Or else wait for Proton NGV direct from factory but maybe not Proton Saga BLM.

Don’t risk your life just want to save costs (Ouch, but no rebate)!

There’s a lot of people sharing their experience here, here and here.

Reference to the below:

Yes – At least I’ve heard that the owner sucessfully converted it to NGV

No – Never heard about the NGV conversion of this car.

Proton NGV Cars

1. Proton Saga – Yes
2. Proton Wira – Yes
3. Proton Satria – No
4. Proton Putra – No
5. Proton Perdana – Yes
6. Proton Tiara – No
7. Proton Juara – No
8. Proton Waja – Yes
9. Proton Arena – No
10. Proton Gen-2 – No
11. Proton Savvy – No
12. Proton PERT – No
13. Proton Persona – No
14. Proton MPV – No

Perodua NGV Cars

1. Perodua Kancil – No
2. Perodua Rusa – No
3. Perodua Kembara – No
4. Perodua Kenari – No
5. Perodua Kelisa – No
6. Perodua MyVi – No
7. Perodua Viva – No
8. Perodua Nautica – No

Naza NGV Cars

1. Kia Spectra – No
2. Kia Optima – No
3. Kia Sportage – No
4. Kia Spectra5 – No
5. Naza Ria (rebadged Kia Carnival) – Yes
6. Naza Citra (rebadged Kia Carens) – Yes
7. Naza Sorento (rebadged Kia Sorento) – No
8. Naza Sutera (rebadged Hafei Lobo) – No
9. Naza 206 Bestari (rebadged Peugeot 206) – No
10. Naza Suria (rebadged Kia Picanto) – No

Will continue the list of Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Hyundai, Ford, Chevrolet and the rest.

Tags: proton+ngv, perodua+ngv, gas, naza+ria, ngv+car

A lot of friends already converted to NGV. All from the same office. Some models are:

Proton Iswara
Proton Waja
Proton Saga (Old model, 1980s)
Toyota Avanza
Naza Ria
Naza Citra
Nissan Sentra
Peugeot (forgot what model)

I wish to convert it too by visiting an authorized NGV installer.