Malaysian oil and gas company Petronas said Friday it had recently signed two agreements with U.S. major ExxonMobil to jointly pursue Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) projects in Malaysia.
Petronas and ExxonMobil have committed to defining the next steps, which include maturing technical scopes for the CCS value chain, evaluating identified fields for CO2 storage utilization, developing an appropriate commercial framework, and establishing advocacy plans for support on regulations and policy development in enabling CCS projects.
The agreements were signed by Petronas's Head of Carbon Management, Emry Hisham Yusoff and ExxonMobil President, Shane Harris.
Late in November 2022, Petronas Carigali said it had made the Final Investment Decision (FID) for the development of its Kasawari CO2 Sequestration (CCS) project offshore Sarawak.
The CCS project, located in Block SK316 about 200 kilometers off Bintulu, is expected to reduce carbon dioxide volume emitted via flaring by 3.3 MtCO2e annually, which Petronas said would make it "one of the largest offshore CCS projects in the world."
Also, in December, Petronas said it would work with Japan's JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration Corp. on a joint proposal to monetize gas potential in the Bujang, Inas, Guling, Sepat, and Tujoh (BIGST) fields located offshore Kerteh, Terengganu.
Petronas said at the time that carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology would be [a key solution] in monetizing the fields since they contain high carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels, adding that this would be "the first CCS project in Peninsular Malaysia.”