Malaysian and Japanese energy companies have signed an agreement to study and plan a carbon dioxide (CO2) storage site offshore Sarawak, Malaysia.
Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (Petros), Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) through its subsidiary - CCS Ventures Sdn Bhd (Petronas CCS Ventures), and a Japanese consortium earlier this week signed a storage site agreement for the M3 depleted field offshore Sarawak.
The Japanese consortium is composed of Japan Petroleum Exploration Co., Ltd. (Japex), JGC Holdings Corporation, and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (K LINE).
Under the agreement, the parties will undertake feasibility studies for carbon capture and storage (CCS) sites as well as plan the development of CO2 storage sites, including onshore terminals and transportation pipelines, as well as assessment of its techno-commercial feasibility, Petronas said in a news release Thursday.
The collaboration “represents a significant advancement in the effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, including Malaysia and Japan”, Petronas noted in the release.
Petros Senior Vice President for Sarawak Resource Management Nazrin Banu Shaikh Ahmad said, “As the Resource Manager for Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) in Sarawak, this step forward signifies our commitment as Sarawak’s economic growth engine leveraging on CCUS as an enabler. This is the first project for the industry and the impetus to more low-carbon solution projects. We are pleased to share our commitment to Sarawak with PETRONAS and the Japanese consortium who are participating with us in this CCUS project”.
Petronas CCS Ventures CEO Emry Hisham Yusoff said, “This collaboration is not just a strategic move to unlock potential CCS opportunities in Sarawak but necessary in addressing climate change as a collective action in achieving a low-carbon future. By securely storing captured CO2 underground, CCS plays a pivotal role in decarbonizing key industries, and it is hoped that this milestone will set an impetus for other CCS initiatives within Malaysia”.
JAPEX Managing Executive Officer and President of Overseas Business Division II, Yamada Tomomi said, “We are very proud to work with Petronas CCS Ventures and Petros for this epochal project and believe that [the] expertise of each company can make [a] great contribution for realizing the CCS value chain centered on Sarawak aiming at the decarbonization of the APAC region, including Japan”.
Two PSCs Awarded
Meanwhile, Petronas, through its subsidiary Malaysia Petroleum Management (MPM), signed production sharing contracts (PSCs) for two Discovered Resource Opportunities (DRO) clusters located off the coast of Peninsular Malaysia.
The BIGST Cluster was awarded to Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd, and JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration (BIGST) Sdn Bhd, with 50 percent participating interest each. The Tembakau Cluster was awarded to IPC Malaysia B.V and IPC SEA Holding B.V, with 90 percent and 10 percent participating interest, respectively.
Petronas Senior Vice President of MPM Datuk Ir Bacho Pilong said in a separate statement, “The signing of the BIGST and Tembakau DRO cluster PSCs further reinforce Malaysia’s position as an attractive destination for industry players seeking to grow their energy portfolio and thrive in the energy transition with Malaysia’s differentiated barrels. These awards, in addition to the signing of seven new PSCs earlier this year were the result of MPM’s ongoing efforts in promoting Malaysia Upstream, and a testament to investors’ confidence in Malaysia’s E&P industry”.
“While the development of resources remains crucial to ensure energy security, we are also taking deliberate efforts towards achieving our targets to manage emissions from operations. That is why we have incorporated CCS technology as part of the development of BIGST Cluster”, he added.
The BIGST cluster is made up of five undeveloped high CO2 gas fields and is the first high CO2 development in Peninsular Malaysia that incorporates CCS, according to the release. The Tembakau cluster comprises two undeveloped sweet gas fields awarded as Small Field Asset PSC. BIGST has estimated resources of four trillion standard cubic feet, while Tembakau has estimated resources of 260 billion standard cubic feet.
source: rigzone.com (Rocky Teodoro)
Comments