BY ALEXANDRA LORNA & GOH PEI PEI
KUCHING: The first regulated forest carbon project will commence in Sarawak in the first quarter of 2023.
He said the initiative will be driven by the private sector entities with the technological know-how and financial resources to ensure the success and sustainability of these projects.
“Sarawak, because of its stable geological formations, has the biggest carbon storage capacity in offshore areas.
“It is estimated that Sarawak has 30 trillion cubic metres of carbon storage capacity in the seabed of its continental shelf.
“The depleted or abandoned petroleum fields in offshore areas are suitable for development into sites for secured, permanent storage of carbon dioxide (CO2) captured by oil and gas companies who now have obligations to reduce emission of CO2 into the atmosphere,” he said.
He said this in his winding-up speech at the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting today (Dec 1).
He said that the captured and stored CO2 can be used for making of Hydrogen (H2), blue ammonia, biofuels and other products, thereby providing a platform for the sustained development of carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) industry in Sarawak apart from the generation of carbon credits and a new source of revenue for Sarawak.
“At this stage, PETROS and PETRONAS are working jointly to begin work on development of a depleted oil field off the coast of Sarawak for storage of captured CO2 from an adjacent oil producing field. A licence for this will be issued as soon as the new Rules on Carbon Storage are gazetted in early 2023.
“Recently, PETRONAS Carigali Sdn Bhd has reached the final investment decision (FID) for the development of the Kasawari CCS project off Bintulu and is expected to reduce CO2 volume emitted by 3.3 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent annually, making it one of the largest offshore CCS projects in the world.
“Additionally, reputable companies in Singapore, Korea and Japan have also shown keen interests in participating and investing in CCUS in Sarawak and in the transboundary transportation of captured CO2 from these countries for safe storage in offshore Sarawak,” he pointed out.
He said that the future of this new industry for Sarawak is bright and is also another revenue generation for Sarawak via imposition of carbon storage levies.
“It is also estimated that more than 10,000 new, clean jobs for this industry would be created before 2030,” he added.
