A 500km Sabah-Sarawak gas pipeline being installed by national oil and gas company Petronas has encroached into native customary lands, says Swiss-based NGO Bruno Manser Fund (BMF).

BMF, which mapped out the pipeline's path in its new Sarawak Geoportal, shows the pipeline extending from the Sabah Oil and Gas Terminal in Kimanis to Petronas' Liqufied Natural Gas Complex in Bintulu, Sarawak.

"Petronas has been repeatedly criticised for secrecy surrounding the project and for its failure to disclose the exact line of the 500km-long Sabah-Sarawak Gas Pipeline (SSGP).

"Local communities erected several blockades against the construction of the 500km long gas pipeline,” BMF said in a statement yesterday.

"In particular, the extraction of timber within the native customary land for the construction of the pipeline was criticised by a number of affected indigenous communities and was the reason why Penan communities asked Petronas to fulfil their demands for compensation."

The pipeline, BMF said, added to the woes of the Sarawak indigenous population, which is already facing the threat of 12 hydroelectric power dams.

"The dams would flood more than 2,300 square kilometres of tropical rainforest and would directly or indirectly effect an estimated population of 30,000 to 50,000 people," it said.

BMF also unveiled its new Geoportal , which allows members of the public to view the dam locations and the affected villages.