The carbon capture arm of Petronas has inked a deal with Carbon Clean to explore the use of its technology for carbon capture in different areas of the oil and gas giant’s operations.
Having signed a Memorandum of Understanding, both companies will work together to explore and develop how Carbon Clean’s CycloneCC solution can be used for post combustion carbon dioxide (CO2) capture.
According to Carbon Clean, its modular technology occupies up to 50% less space than conventional carbon capture solutions and the equipment is ten times smaller.
“Carbon Clean is proud to support Petronas in achieving its Net Zero targets by providing a cost-effective approach to carbon capture,” said Aniruddha Sharma, Chair and CEO of Carbon Clean.
Petronas’ first foray into carbon capture came in 2004 with its PN-1TM technology – a membrane that processes and removes a wide range of CO2.
In 2010, Petronas began to monetise its fields with high CO2 contents through the Tangga Barat project in Indonesia.
The CCS project at the M1 field, set to begin CO2 injections by late 2026, is expected to capture an average of 3.3 million metric tonnes of CO2 annually, positioning it among the world’s largest CCS initiatives.
In early 2022, PETRONAS launched the Carbon Management Division (CMD) to advance key low-carbon initiatives, focusing on CO2 management and developing its Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) business.
CycloneCC industrial unit. ©Carbon Clean
The CMD will drive the company’s decarbonisation across its value chain by managing a carbon storage portfolio for its emissions and potentially creating a regional carbon storage hub as a revenue source.
PETRONAS Upstream aims to cut 11.6 million tCO2e emissions by 2025 through partnerships and CCS initiatives, achieve zero venting by 2024 and eliminate routine flaring by 2030.
“There are two parts to how we are doing it. First, we look at physical decarbonisation of our existing facilities through improving operational efficiency to cut down venting and flaring to reduce methane emission. Another team looks at CCS where we are not just managing Upstream’s CO2, but the entire PETRONAS’ operations including Downstream and Gas businesses,” explained PETRONAS’ Head of Carbon Management Division, Emry Hisham Yusoff.
For CCS, the division will be looking at managing storage readiness as well as the offerings for PETRONAS’ high CO2fields in Upstream. “We will then branch out and expand to offer CCS as the pathway of decarbonisation for industries in the region,” said Nora’in Md Salleh, Head of Carbon Capture and Storage at CMD.
Key partnerships for Carbon Clean include Chevron for scalable industrial carbon capture, Veolia for waste-to-energy applications, CEMEX for capturing CO2 in cement production and Tata Steel for steel manufacturing emissions. The company also explores CycloneCC in bioenergy for potential negative emissions.
