SINGAPORE (Jan 18): Sarawak’s strategic location and extensive oil and gas expertise positions the state as a potential regional Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) service provider, according to an official from international energy company Shell.

Shell general manager for CCS Asia Pacific Zharin Zhafrael Mohd said Sarawak has the capacity for CCS storage offshore which places the state quite favourably in the region.

“With the infrastructure that Sarawak currently has and is envisioning under its Sarawak Gas Roadmap, such as building in CCS, hydrogen and hydropower, I think that is what makes Sarawak an exciting area to establish itself as an important regional CCS service provider for the industry,” she told The Borneo Post.

The interview was held in conjunction with an event to welcome the Northern Pathfinder – one of the world’s first liquid carbon dioxide (CO2) carriers for large-scale CCS – to Singapore.

Shell has partnered with Norwegian energy company Equinor and French energy company TotalEnergies to form the Northern Lights Joint Venture (NLJV), offering the first-ever commercial CO2 transport and storage service.

Zharin said Shell is currently evaluating two fields in Central Luconia, offshore Sarawak and working closely with Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (Petros) to assess the feasibility of carbon storage in the area.

Zharin (front, seventh left) in a group photo with other guests. Also present were (front, from eighth left) Norwegian ambassador to Singapore Leif Trana and Shell Singapore country chair Aw Kah Peng.

“Petros launched the Sarawak Bid Round for CCS last year of which we participated in, and we are definitely looking at Sarawak because Shell has been in Malaysia, particularly Sarawak, for a very long time. So, we understand the geological structures in that area,” she added.

She also said that in addition to Central Luconia, Shell is looking at West Luconia, offshore Sarawak as well.

“We are actually looking across the board and we are happy to keep expanding that moving forward. We do see the potential in Sarawak.”

Earlier, Zharin shared a presentation on ‘Unlocking the Potential of Cross-Border CCS in Asia Pacific’ with guests from Shell and industry players from around the region on the Northern Pathfinder.

The Northern Pathfinder is one of the largest dedicated CO2 shipping fleets globally, custom designed to safely transport liquefied CO2 from capture sites in Europe to the Northern Lights receiving terminal located in Øygarden, Norway.

Zharin (left) together with Shell general manager for Maritime Operations Asia Pacific and the Middle East) Lee Teng Huar.

Shell is the lead developer of this vessel, which was built by China’s Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co Ltd.

The vessel had travelled from Dalian, China for a stopover in Singapore for bunkering before continuing to Norway.

The journey will take approximately 45 days, over a distance of about 28,000km.