Cop: Thai firms look to develop more CCUS initiatives

Market: Emissions
06/12/23

Thailand's state-controlled upstream firm PTTEP and state-owned utility Egat are trying to progress carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) initiatives to accelerate energy transition efforts, said representatives today at the UN Cop 28 climate summit in Dubai.

PTTEP is looking into a potential CCS hub in east Thailand to reduce emissions from the industrial sector there. The CCS hub is meant to reduce 6mn-10mn t/yr of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the Map Ta Phut industrial estate, said state-controlled PTTEP's senior vice-president of carbon and energy solutions Nopasit Chaiwanakupt. The initial final investment decision is scheduled to take place in 2027 and commercial operations in 2030.

Egat is also looking into CCUS, currently studying the direct hydrogenation of CO2 from flue gas into methanol at one of its power plants, as well as the geological storage potential of the Mae Mah mine, according to the firm's assistant governor Narin Phoawanich. Egat is looking to develop pilot plants between 2024-27, with the first demonstration plant to be established in the 2030s and the first operating plant to be completed by 2040. Further details on volumes were not provided.

The capital expenditure required for the east Thailand CCS hub is estimated at about $2bn. CCUS will only increase costs and firms need to consider how to not pass on those costs to consumers, said Chaiwanakupt. The international community needs to help with the financing, he added.

PTTEP has been looking into carbon capture to decarbonise its operations, in line with the country's net zero by 2065 goal. "We believe [carbon capture and storage] is a must," its chief executive Montri Rawanchaikul said earlier this year, adding that PTTEP has tried to do this "in-house" at their production fields. PTTEP is currently developing the country's first CCS project at the Arthit gas field.

Egat is also looking into developing Asia's first wind-hydrogen hybrid power generation project in Thailand. It aims to use a 1MW hydrogenics PEM electrolyser to convert excess electricity from a 24MW wind farm into hydrogen, said Chaiwanakupt, without providing further details such timelines for development.

By Prethika Nair

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