Malaysian national oil company Petronas has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with UK-based Storegga, a developer of carbon storage and clean fuels, to assess and determine the commercial, regulatory, and economic factors needed for the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) hub and cluster projects in Malaysia.
Storegga said yesterday that the move progresses both companies continued efforts to combat climate change through the development of CCS and carbon management globally.
“The phased work will explore collaboration on CCS and related projects in Malaysia and internationally, including the potential development of projects in direct air capture (DAC),” added the company.
Nick Cooper, CEO at Storegga, noted that “CCS is a vital tool. A reverse carbon cycle at scale is urgently needed to reduce and remove CO₂ from the atmosphere. We are looking forward to working with Petronas in Malaysia and beyond to catalyse CCS hubs and clusters. These hubs will accelerate the development of important carbon reversal technologies such as direct air capture. We have one atmosphere – it is vital that countries around the world work together to reduce and remove CO₂. We are excited that this relationship also expands Storegga’s global presence and utilises our capabilities to support Asia’s progress towards decarbonisation.”
Emry Hisham Yusoff, Head of Carbon Management at Petronas said “the collaboration undertaken through this MoU will look into the commerciality and other associated environments to enable the CCS value chain in Malaysia and/or regionally, bringing Petronas closer towards establishing Malaysia as a leading and attractive regional CCS solutions hub.”
In June, Petronas signed an MoU with Japan’s Mitsui for the conceptual and feasibility studies on the CCS value chain, including the evaluation of carbon dioxide (CO2) storage sites in Malaysia. Significantly, Mitsui is a shareholder in Storegga, that is developing the Acorn CCS project in the UK.
Last month Malaysia’s 2023 budget introduced a raft of tax incentives for carbon capture and storage (CCS) as the country aims to become a regional hub for the nascent sector.
Malaysia and Indonesia were the first countries in Southeast Asia to announce that carbon capture and storage (CCS) would play a role in decarbonising their industrial sectors. BP in Indonesia, and Petronas in Malaysia, announced landmark projects in the oil and gas industry. However, while Indonesia has started having the right conversations around CCS, neighbouring Malaysia, and possibly even Thailand, appear to be making more progress within the region, as Energy Voice reported previously.