By Ling Hui and Karen Bong
KUCHING, March 15: Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (Petros) is in discussions with several international carbon dioxide (CO2) emitters to assess the potential for cross-border CO2 storage to further scale up its carbon capture and storage (CCS) initiatives and establish Sarawak as the CCS heartland in the Asia Pacific region.
Premier of Sarawak Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg pointed out that Sarawak boasts global-scale potential for carbon dioxide storage, estimated to be around nine billion tonnes.
However, he also noted that strong regional competition is expected in the Asia Pacific, where over 40 billion tonnes of CCS storage potential exists, excluding Malaysia.
“To ensure environmental integrity and security, Petros as the CCS resource manager in Sarawak is collaborating with various international regulators and CCS industry experts to develop comprehensive guidelines.
“These guidelines will ensure that the right assessments and studies are performed as part of the Sarawak CCS licensing requirements, further enhancing the environmental and operational safety of the CCS industry,” he said in his keynote speech at the Asia Carbon Conference (ACC) 2023 held at a hotel here today.
Furthermore, Abang Johari pointed out that a comprehensive CCS Roadmap will be developed to outline the strategies and actions necessary to realise the full potential of the CCS value chain in Sarawak.
With that, Petros will continue to play a leading and proactive role in the development of the CCS industry in Sarawak and ensuring that the CCS value chain is developed in a well-orchestrated manner to unlock long-term value for the region.
The implementation of CCS in Sarawak offers three significant benefits to the region, Abang Johari said. The first is enabling the commercialisation of otherwise stranded sour gas reserves that contain high levels of carbon dioxide in the natural gas mixture, primarily offshore of Sarawak.
“This will generate direct and indirect revenue for Sarawak through royalty, taxes, income, and local economic multiplier effects while providing opportunities for local contractors to develop their capabilities in these industries.
“In the near term, unlocking stranded sour gas resources is a key objective, and Petros will work with various upstream gas producers to establish development plans at the right time.
“Currently, the corporation is in discussions with Petronas (Petroliam Nasional Berhad) to ensure that the proposed CCS project in Sarawak complies with the State’s CCS regulatory requirements,” he said.
Elaborating, Abang Johari added that secondly, CCS will ensure long-term energy and gas supply security for Sarawak, which aspires to achieve an energy mix of 70 per cent hydro and 30 per cent thermal plus alternative renewables to establish sustainable energy security.
“The additional gas unlocked by CCS also allows the region to progress its Sarawak Gas Roadmap, attracting foreign direct investment and enabling the maturation of blue and green hydrogen, and its derivatives, industries in the region,” he explained.
Thirdly, he said that the base CCS infrastructure established by the sour gas field development can be further expanded to allow other carbon dioxide emitters, both local and foreign, to capture and store CO2, presenting business opportunities for local resources to operate CCS infrastructures.
“This will generate revenue while further developing local capabilities, presenting an opportunity for Sarawak to position itself as a hub for CCS technology and expertise,” he said.
Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan and Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian, Minister of Utility and Telecommunication Datuk Julaihi Narawi, Minister of Transport Dato Sri Lee Kim Shin as well as Sarawak Secretary Datuk Amar Mohamad Abu Bakar Marzuki were among those present. — DayakDaily
