BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN – Shell Eastern Petroleum, an unit of global oil and gas major Shell Plc said on Wednesday it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Brunei Shell Petroleum (BSP) to explore carbon transport and storage options in Brunei and Singapore.
As per the agreement, the companies will evaluate the technical and commercial feasibility of carbon storage options in Brunei and carbon transport solutions from Singapore.
“We are in a good position to leverage our existing relationships and track records in Brunei and Singapore to enable the development of a potential CCS hub in Southeast Asia,” said Agnete Johnsgaard-Lewis, managing director of BSP.
The government of Brunei Darussalam and Shell group each own a 50% stake in the Brunei Shell Petroleum Company.
Shell said the MoU complements an agreement signed by the Brunei and Singapore governments last August to strengthen cooperation in energy and the green economy through emerging low-carbon technologies such as hydrogen and solar, carbon capture and storage, and carbon markets.
Shell, which has a target to become a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050, said its ambition is to have access to at least 25 million tonnes a year of CCS capacity by 2035.
CCS is emerging as a key plank in the fight against carbon pollution and climate change. Earlier this year, Shell announced plans to build larger vessels that can carry more carbon dioxide over longer distances as part of the company’s plans to expand its carbon capture storage business globally.
“It (CCS) also offers a way to reduce emissions from hard-to-decarbonise industries, such as those found on Jurong Island,” Aw Kah Peng, chairman of Shell Companies in Singapore, said, referring to the heart of Singapore’s chemical and energy industry.
“This will help Singapore cut its carbon footprint as we transition to a lower carbon economy.”