By Nur Ashikin Louis
KUCHING, Jan 27: A pilot project on algae cultivation to produce biofuel will be among the focus areas of Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) in Sarawak this year.
Its general manager Zulaihi Mantali said the pilot project carried in collaboration with SEDC Energy Sdn Bhd is translated into the physical construction of a laboratory for field tests.
“I think the whole idea is to test it (constituents for biofuel production) in the field and to see whether there are some peculiarities that we need to address,” he told reporters after hosting a networking lunch with the media at Hilton Hotel here today.
He further said biofuel production is part of Petronas’ effort in line with Sarawak government’s agenda to push for the commercialisation of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
Premier of Sarawak Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg has always publicly brought up the topic of converting algae into biofuel that can be used as SAF to power aircraft.
On July 20 last year, Petronas and SEDC Energy signed two arrangements where one of them is to explore the development of an Initial Commercial Plant (ICP) for microalgae cultivation and harvesting, as well as the extraction of crude algae oil.
Subject to commercial attractiveness, the parties may look into establishing a large-scale commercial plant at a later stage.
Both parties have also signed another agreement on Jan 20 to jointly develop algae production technology which includes cultivation, harvesting and extraction of crude algae oil, that will later be refined to produce SAF.
At the same time, Zulaihi said among other projects run by Petronas Sarawak include encouraging new investments especially on offshore projects into the State as well as the launching of Malaysia Bid Round (MBR) 2023 next month which is a play to offer offshore exploration blocks in Sarawak to foreign investors. — DayakDaily
