MIRI (Feb 18): PetrosNiaga has set up additional depots in Bintulu and Miri to overcome the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder distribution challenges affecting consumers in northern Sarawak.

Supply in northern Sarawak has experienced a slower recovery due to the longer transportation distance and limited number of suitable lorries to transport supplies from Kuching and Sabah.

“To mitigate this, additional storage depots are being set up in Bintulu and Miri to improve turnaround time for efficient supply distribution.

“These new facilities will help ease logistical constraints and support faster supply delivery and the situation in Miri is expected to be normalised in a few days,” Petrosniaga said in a statement today.

More temporary storage depots will be identified for areas with similar situations in the effort to ensure normal supply circulation within this month for subsidised LPG cylinders for household use and non-subsidised LPG cylinders for commercial use across Sarawak.

The recent landslide due to adverse weather conditions halted operations at the Pusaka Integrated Resources Sdn Bhd Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) bottling plant in Bintulu.

To ensure adequate supply, PetrosNiaga rerouted LPG cylinder supply from Kuching and Sepanggar Bay in Sabah.

Senari Independent Oil Terminal (IOT) in Kuching also ramped up its filling capacity to pre-disruption levels for the whole of Sarawak, reaching up to 29,000 cylinders per day, ensuring reliable and stable supply.

With an estimated 1.8 million LPG cylinders in circulation, the company said there is sufficient supply to meet Sarawak’s overall demand.

“We appreciate the patience and cooperation of all consumers as efforts continue to restore normal LPG distribution across Sarawak,” added the statement.

Despite the increased logistical challenges, the company said there will be no increase in the prices for subsidised LPG for household use as PetrosNiaga is absorbing these costs to prevent any financial burden on consumers.

The price for the subsidised household LPG remains at RM26.60 when collected from any authorised distributor or dealer.

Any unauthorised price increase or extra charges should be reported to PetrosNiaga’s Customer Service on 1300-88-2122, or the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living on 1-800-886-800, or 019-8488000 via WhatsApp.

As of yesterday, customers were still facing long queues to have their cylinders refilled here.