Petronas, Japanese firms advance Sarawak CCS project

Malaysia's state-owned Petronas and eight Japanese companies have agreed with Japan's state-owned energy firm Jogmec to proceed with work on a carbon capture and storage (CCS) project to transport and store carbon dioxide (CO2) from Japan to Sarawak, Malaysia.

The firms have signed a contract with Jogmec to proceed with the commissioning of design work related to the CCS project, the companies said on 13 September. The companies will work together to examine the equipment and costs required for the separation, collection and liquefaction of CO2 emitted from multiple industries in Japan's Setouchi area, including steelworks, power and chemical plants, as well as the marine transport and injection and storage of the CO2 in Sarawak.

The CCS project is located off the coast of Sarawak and has an estimated storage capacity of 1.9mn-2.9mn t/yr.

The eight Japanese companies are Japan Petroleum Exploration (Japex), JGC, shipping company Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line), JFE Steel, Mitsubishi Gas Chemical (MGC), Mitsubishi Chemical, Chugoku Electric Power (Energia) and Nippon Gas Line (NGL).

Japex, JGC, K Line and Petronas will also investigate the profitability of the CCS project using depleted gas fields offshore Sarawak, including the M3 depleted field, as CO2 storage sites.

JFE Steel, MGC, Mitsubishi Chemical and Energia will carry out CO2 separation and capture in the process of their respective operations. NGL will look into infrastructure for the domestic coastal transport of liquefied CO2 by ship.

The Sarawak CCS project was previously selected by Jogmec as a potential project to receive funds for initial engineering works, as a part of Tokyo's strategy to ensure commercial utilisation of the technology by the April 2030-March 2031 fiscal year. It is unclear how much funding Jogmec will provide for this project.

By Joey Chan