KUALA LUMPUR (March 15): Petroleum Sarawak Bhd (Petros) has obtained its first licence for carbon storage to begin the state-owned energy company's strategic role as the resource manager for Sarawak's natural carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) resources.

The licence, issued by the Sarawak Land and Survey Department, covers an area located in the North Luconia province, offshore Bintulu.

Petros group chief executive officer Janin Girie said that with an abundance of storage potential in offshore areas, Sarawak is blessed with the biggest potential of carbon storage capacity in Malaysia.

"We welcome organisations which are committed about achieving their decarbonisation targets to explore utilising CCUS potential in Sarawak with Petros.

“Development of CCUS infrastructure will unlock and commercialise the development of stranded sour gas reserves offshore Sarawak. 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,” Janin said in a statement.

“Down the line, the base CCUS infrastructure established to enable the sour gas field development can be further expanded to allow other carbon dioxide (CO2) emitters, both local and foreign, to capture and store CO2, to reduce the greenhouse warming effect and enabling the realisation of a net carbon-zero economy,” he added.

Janin said these infrastructure expansions, in turn, will create business opportunities to operate CCUS infrastructure, generating revenue for the state economy, while further developing local capabilities.