LNG, he said, is one of the activities using gas as feedstock.

"We have a lot of other derivatives from gas, for example, the methanol plant is one of them.

"As such, the port will no longer be just for LNG. There are a lot of by-products out of gas," he said.

The premier said the establishing of the supply base is an appropriate approach for the state government to help in regulating activities as a result of the state's gas reserves, both offshore and onshore Sarawak.

He noted that Sarawak has about 60 per cent of Malaysia's gas reserve offshore.

"There will be a lot of activities offshore because of the gas reserve and that exploration is still going on and there could be some new areaswhere we can explore and find more reserve," he said.

He said he believes that Bintulu Port will help to leapfrog the state's economy, not only in terms of supply base, but also for the export of products produced in the state.