Malaysia’s state-owned energy giant PETRONAS has signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) with the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC), and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) on the cross-border CO2 transportation and storage.
The agreement was signed at the 3rd Asia CCUS Network Forum held on September 27, 2023, in Hiroshima, Japan.
Malaysia, with its various natural resources, has high potential not only for natural gas, but also to produce clean energy such as hydrogen and fuel ammonia. Malaysia has also been discussing the use of carbon dioxide (CO2) as an energy source.
Furthermore, Malaysia has an abundance of area suitable for geological storage of carbon dioxide (CO2).
With that in mind, Japan and Malaysia have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) to promote discussions on cross-border CO2 transportation and storage aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
Namely, the two countries signed a cooperation deal back in March 2023 on jointly addressing climate change and working together toward carbon neutrality/net zero emissions while ensuring energy security.
In addition, discussions are already underway with Japanese companies on cooperation on the production and utilization of alternative fuels.
The recent cooperation agreement coincides with the latest partnership between PETRONAS, MISC Berhad and Japanese shipping major Mitsui O.S.K Lines (MOL) on the development and commercialization of Liquefied Carbon Dioxide (LCO2) carriers.
The three industry heavyweights signed a term sheet in late September for the potential incorporation of a joint venture entity to invest in developing and monetizing LCO 2 carriers intended for carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects in Malaysia. The trio has also agreed in principle on the key commercial terms to allow progress to the next stage.
The partnership reinforces PETRONAS’ commitment to establish Malaysia’s potential as a prominent regional hub for CCS.
The company is already working on the development of the Kasawari CCS project , and it took the final investment decision (FID) for the project at the end of 2022.
The CCS project is scheduled to come online by the end of 2025 and will be part of the overall Kasawari gas development project.