NORWAY: The Sarawak government will hold discussions with Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (PETROS) to identify suitable locations for carbon capture and storage (CCS) initiatives in the state.
Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said that efforts to identify the location can be done through special research.
He said a study is important to know the appropriateness of the geological aspects of the seabed of Sarawak waters.
“However, what is important is the policy so that we can use our geological advantage (in Sarawak) to store carbon. This is not easy because the (suitable) environment must be there, especially on the geological structure of our land,” he said.
He said this in a press conference after a two-day working visit to Norway with the Sarawak government delegation and following a meeting with the country’s CCS operating company last Thursday.
Abang Johari added that the data owned by the carbon storage implementing company in Norway is according to the geological aspects of the North Sea.
Therefore, he said, the Sarawak government will also identify the current technology to determine the location of carbon storage before injecting it into the well, that is either on land or offshore.
“They are in the North Sea area, there is a difference in terms of water level or water depth. We are also on the continental shelf and the gradient is shallow, so there may be other options.
“I also mentioned the flat-bottomed barge, and maybe it can be used to store carbon, before it is injected,” he said.
He added that the CCS operating company that had been visited in this country will also be used as reference and benchmarks in the development of the green sector in Sarawak.
Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan, Sarawak State Secretary Datuk Amar Mohamad Abu Bakar Marzuki, Deputy Minister of Energy and Environmental Sustainability Dr Hazland Abang Hipni and several Sarawak government officials were among those present.
