SEPTEMBER 2004

PETRONAS Adventure Team members meet Egyptian students

September 9 2004 - Students from the Idku Centre for Professional Enhancement got “up close and personal” with members of the PETRONAS Adventure Team (PAT) participating in the 2004 PETRONAS Trans-Sahara expedition when the Team made a stop at the Centre to participate in a PETRONAS’ community development programme.

The Team, together with PETRONAS staff, participated in a “renovation, construction and repair works programme” to refurbish and help give a “face-lift” to the Centre, in addition to contributing new equipment to the Centre. Team members, staff and students worked hand in hand to complete renovation and construction works of various sections of the Centre, which included the construction of a new main entrance and sewing room.

Under the patronage of the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Idku Centre for Professional Enhancement is a vocational institution aimed at helping to facilitate capacity development to school drop-outs by providing youths a valuable opportunity to develop their skills. Among the training activities conducted at the centre include electrical, iron and steel works, carpentry and needlework.

After that, the Team made a stop at the Organisation for Mentally Challenged Children in Idku where PETRONAS contributed hearing and basic teaching aids to the school. The programme at the school also included a mini-medical clinic for the young children, where the Team’s doctor provided free consultation and medical supplies to the teachers.

The programmes at the Vocational Training Centre and the Organisation of Mentally Challenged children are a part of PETRONAS’ community programmes in conjunction with the 2004 PETRONAS Trans-Sahara Expedition. The annual overland four-wheel drive expedition is the Team’s sixth adventure, taking it across the Sahara desert from Khartoum in Sudan to Casablanca, Morocco, from August to October.

As part of the visit programme to Idku, the Team along with senior local authorities and PETRONAS’ joint venture partners participated in a tour of the Egyptian LNG or ELNG complex. The LNG plant, with its related infrastructure, is located approximately 50km east of Alexandria and is Egypt’s largest project to date. PETRONAS’ partners in the ELNG project are the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation through nominee Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company, BG Group plc and Gaz De France.

The LNG complex has been designed to accommodate six gas liquefaction trains with Trains 1 and 2 expected for completion in the third quarter of 2005 and in early 2006, respectively. Production from both trains has been committed for export to European and North Atlantic markets. PETRONAS currently holds a 35.5% and 38% interest in the first and second trains respectively.

The project will be supplied by natural gas from Egypt’s offshore West Deep Delta Marine concession, where PETRONAS as operator has a 50% working interest.

PETRONAS also shares an interest in the upstream sector of the North East Mediterranean Deepwater Oil and Gas block with partner, Shell Egypt Deepwater since 2001.

Following the programme in Idku, the Team left to continue its PETRONAS Trans-Sahara Expedition towards the Libyan border.

PETRONAS Africa Trek documentary screening on Astro Ria

September 7 2004 - If you had missed last year's Africa Trek documentary series on RTM2, fear not. If you're an Astro subscriber, you can tune into Astro Ria to watch the seven episode Africa Trek - a 49-day adventure for 41 Malaysians in 21 four-wheel drive vehicles.

The PETRONAS Adventure Team had journeyed through the heart of Africa, across seven countries - South Africa, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia visiting wildlife sanctuaries and World Heritage Sites, driving through sand dunes, and admiring Victoria Falls.

PETRONAS Africa Trek on Astro Ria begins 9th October at 7.30pm.