Press Releases

Indera Kayangan Ballroom, The Empire Brunei, 8 November 2023 – Hengyi Industries Sdn. Bhd. (Hengyi Industries) reached a significant milestone with the signing of the Pulau Muara Besar Phase 2 Development Project Implementation Agreement with the Petroleum Authority of Brunei Darussalam (PA) and the Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB). Concurrently, A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was also signed between Zhejiang University (ZJU) and Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD).

The event was held at the Indera Kayangan Ballroom, The Empire Brunei. Present as the guests of honour were Yang Berhormat Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Retired) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi bin Haji Mohd Yussof, Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Defence II; Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Dr. Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew bin Abdullah, Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Finance and Economy II; Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Muhammad Juanda bin Haji Abdul Rashid, Minister of Development; and Mr Qiu Jianlin, Chairman of Zhejiang Hengyi Group Co. Ltd and Hengyi Industries.

Also present at the ceremony were Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Paduka Awang Haji Ahmad bin Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Setia Bakti Di-Raja Dato Laila Utama Haji Awang Isa, Attorney General; Yang Mulia Awang Haji Mohamad Azmi bin Haji Mohd Hanifah, Deputy Minister (Energy) at the Prime Minister’s Office; Yang Mulia Dato Seri Paduka Awang Haji Khairuddin bin Haji Abdul Hamid, Deputy Minister of Finance and Economy (Economy); Yang Mulia Pengiran Datin Seri Paduka Zety Sufina bin Pengiran Dato Paduka Haji Sani, Deputy Minister of Finance and Economy (Fiscal); Yang Mulia Dato Paduka Seri Haji Mohammad Irwan bin Haji Hambali, Commissioner of Police; permanent secretaries and deputy permanent secretaries from the Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Finance and Economy, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Development, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Transport and Infocommunications as well as foreign dignitaries in Brunei Darussalam including His Excellency Dr. Xiao Jianguo, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to Brunei Darussalam.

The event began with the recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah and Doa Selamat, followed by opening remarks from Yang Berhormat Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Defence II, and Mr Qiu Jianlin, Chairman of Zhejiang Hengyi Group Co. Ltd and Hengyi Industries.

The signing of the Implementation Agreement and Memorandum of Understanding was preceded by a video presentation showcasing the milestones of the development and the socio-economic contributions of Hengyi Industries Phase 1 operations, and the expectations from the Phase 2 Project. The video also showcased the career opportunities and development of the local employees.

During the signing of the Implementation Agreement, Yang Mulia Dayang Hajah Farida binti Dato Seri Paduka Haji Talib, Permanent Secretary (Energy) at the Prime Minister’s Office and Yang Mulia IR. Awang Haji Amer Hishamuddin bin Pehin Orang Kaya Amar Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Zakaria, Permanent Secretary (Infrastructure, Housing and Professional), Ministry of Development; and Yang Mulia Daniel Leong, Acting CEO of BEDB signed on behalf of PA and BEDB respectively, while Mr Chen Lian Cai, Chief Executive Officer of Hengyi Industries signed on behalf of Hengyi Industries.

The Implementation Agreement sets out the parameters, outlined jointly by PA and BEDB, which relates to the development, implementation and operations of Hengyi Industries’ Phase 2 Refinery and Petrochemical Complex at the PMB Industrial Park. The Phase 2 Project aims to contribute towards the development of the Downstream Oil and Gas sector in Brunei Darussalam; creating more local business opportunities through economic spin-offs thus propelling the nation closer towards the achievement of Wawasan Brunei 2035 and supporting the Economic Blueprint of Brunei Darussalam. It is anticipated that with the completion of the Phase 2 Project, an addition of more than 2,000 employment opportunities will be created and 50% of the employment opportunities will be allocated for Bruneians from the start ofoperations in 2029, further contributing to Brunei's socio-economic development.

Under the project, the complex will include development of processing facilities such as a 1.65MMTA ethylene cracker with a 2.5/2.2MMTA purified terephthalic acid/polyethylene terephthalate (PTA/PET) plant, as well as 3 new jetties. In addition, the project will increase the overall complex’s production capacity for refining crude to 11 million tonnes per year. The project will also equip the complex to produce more types of refined petroleum products such as ethylene, polyethylene, butadiene, and polypropylene. These products serve as vital raw materials for downstream industries, spanning from textiles to agriculture and automobile to electronics manufacturing.

Following the signing of the Implementation Agreement, the MoU was formalized with Yang Mulia Dr. Hazri bin Haji Kifle, Vice-Chancellor of UBD and Professor Shaobo Ren, Chairman of the Zhejiang University Council on behalf of Zhejiang University Council.

With the signing of the MoU, UBD, ZJU and Hengyi Industries will continue the joint collaboration programme for an additional 5 years, in which the students of UBD will have the opportunity to enrol in the joint-training Chemical and Process Engineering programme at UBD and ZJU. Since its inception in March 2014, this collaboration programme has produced a total of 117 graduates across ten intakes.

As part of the programme, the students will undergo 4 years of studies which consists of four semesters of academic studies with UBD, three semesters of studies with ZJU, and one semester with Hengyi Industries for Industrial Training Internship. Upon completion and graduation from the programme, the scholars will begin their career in the petrochemical industry at Hengyi Industries.

The event was concluded with an exhibition to showcase an overview of Hengyi Industries and its Phase 1 operations including achievements through various programmes including Phase 2 opportunities.