Petros gets licence for carbon storage in Sarawak

KUCHING: State-owned Petroleum Sarawak Bhd (Petros) has received the first licence for carbon storage to begin its strategic role as resource manager for carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) in Sarawak.

The licence, issued by the state Land and Survey Department on Wednesday (March 15), covers an area located in the North Luconia province, offshore from Bintulu.

This comes after the state government announced last October that Petros would be the resource manager for CCUS in Sarawak, with collaboration and support from the relevant ministries.

Petros group chief executive Janin Girie said Sarawak had the biggest potential for carbon storage capacity in Malaysia in its offshore areas.

He said the development of CCUS infrastructure would enable stranded sour gas reserves offshore Sarawak to be commercialised.

"The additional gas unlocked by CCUS can ensure long-term energy and gas supply security for Sarawak, complementing the energy transition for Sarawak and Malaysia.

"Down the line, the base CCUS infrastructure can be further expanded to allow other carbon dioxide emitters, both local and foreign, to capture and store carbon dioxide, reducing the greenhouse warming effect and enabling the realisation of a net carbon-zero economy," he said in a statement.

Janin said these expansions would in turn create business opportunities to operate CCUS infrastructure, generate revenue for the state and further develop local capabilities.

"We welcome organisations who are committed to achieving their decarbonisation targets to explore utilising CCUS potential in Sarawak with Petros," he added.