ADNOC, PETRONAS, Storegga collaborate to study CCS opportunities offshore Malaysia

(WO) – PETRONAS, ADNOC and Storegga announced the signing of a Joint Study and Development Agreement (JSDA) to evaluate the carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions storage capabilities of saline aquifers and the construction of carbon capture and storage (CCS) facilities in the Penyu basin offshore Peninsular Malaysia.

The agreement is targeting at least 5 MMtpa of CO₂ capture and storage capacity by 2030. Its scope includes a CO₂ shipping and logistics study, geophysical and geomechanical modelling, reservoir simulation and containment research while exploring the application of advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), to enhance storage capacity.

PETRONAS is a member of Malaysia’s National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR) Committee, which has identified CCS as one of six energy transition levers to enable the country to be sustainable, low-carbon and resilient. The Malaysian Government is set to table a standalone CCUS bill by the end of 2024.

Having Storegga as a partner to collaborate in Malaysia is imperative, as Storegga is one of the few companies that boldly took the first steps to progress CCS globally when it was in its infancy stage. Today, Storegga is widely recognized as one of the leading players in this space.

Malaysia's geological abundance of deep saline aquifer reservoirs should allow for the development of large-scale, permanent CO₂ storage solutions and the agreement will significantly accelerate regional CCS deployment, while strengthening collaboration between the strategic partners. The success of this initiative will lay the foundations for a regional CCS hub serving both domestic and international emitters.

ADNOC is targeting a carbon capture capacity of 10 MMtpa by 2030, which is the equivalent emissions to those released by 2 million internal combustion vehicles.

Hanan Balalaa, ADNOC Senior Vice President for New Energies, said, “Carbon capture is an important tool to responsibly reduce carbon emissions and ADNOC will continue to develop this technology as we work towards our Net Zero by 2045 goal. We are committed to working with trusted global partners like PETRONAS and Storegga to develop and utilize global carbon management hubs, enabling our customers to reduce their emissions and supporting their decarbonization goals.”

The JSDA’s activities are provisionally scheduled to begin later this year.