Petronas gets Malaysia's first offshore CCS permit, pursues Suriname growth

Petronas' subsidiary, Petronas CCS Ventures Sdn Bhd (PCCSV), has been granted Malaysia's first Offshore Assessment Permit for Carbon Capture and Storage for the Duyong area, Petronas said in a statement on Nov. 7.

This is the first permit issued under the newly enacted Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage Act [Act 870] (CCUS Act 2025), enforced on Oct. 1 and the permit was granted by the Malaysia Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (MyCCUS) Agency, Petronas said.

The move reinforces Petronas' commitment via PCCSV to advance CCS as a key pathway toward net zero by 2050, it said.

The Offshore Assessment Permit grants the exclusive rights to conduct comprehensive offshore geological assessments over the Duyong field, located offshore Peninsular Malaysia, Petronas noted.

"All assessment activities will be conducted in full compliance with the CCUS Act 2025 and its Offshore Permit and Licensing Regulations 2025, adhering to national laws and relevant guidelines to determine the site's technical and commercial feasibility," Petronas said.

This permit enables the ongoing collaboration between PCCSV, TotalEnergies, and Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (MITSUI) under the Key Principles Agreement to continue advancing studies and evaluation of the Duyong area's potential as a carbon storage site, which is part of the Southern CCS offshore hub development.

"This permit allows our collaboration with TotalEnergies and MITSUI to advance to the next phase of technical studies and evaluations, bringing us closer to realising Duyong's potential as a safe and commercially viable carbon dioxide (CO2) storage site," Emry Hisham Yusoff, chief executive officer of PCCSV, said.

The KPA enables PCCSV, TotalEnergies, and Mitsui to lay the foundation for the front-end engineering design phase for the Duyong area.

Separately, in another statement on Nov. 5, Petronas said it was also boosting hydrocarbons exploration.

The company, via its wholly owned subsidiary Petronas Suriname E&P B.V. (PSEPBV), has signed Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) for Blocks 9 and 10, located in the shallow offshore region of Suriname.

These PSCs mark a significant milestone in Petronas' continued expansion in the Suriname-Guyana Basin.

With the addition of Blocks 9 and 10, along with the recent signing of Block 66 in June, Petronas now holds interests in eight offshore blocks in Suriname, it said.

According to Petronas, Blocks 9 and 10 span a combined area of approximately 5,456 square kilometres and are strategically located between proven deepwater discoveries and onshore producing fields.

Under the PSCs, Petronas holds a 30% participating interest and serves as the operator for Block 9, with Chevron and QatarEnergy each holding 20%, and Paradise Oil Company N.V. (POC) holding 30%. For Block 10, Petronas also holds a 30% participating interest, while Chevron acts as the operator with 30%, QatarEnergy 30%, and POC 10%.

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed the December JKM, the benchmark for spot LNG delivered to Northeast Asia, at $11.118/MMBtu on Nov. 10, up 0.26% compared with the assessment on Nov. 7.