Petronas Carigali and JX Nippon Sign Agreement for BIGST Cluster
PETRONAS
On December 5, 2022, PETRONAS Carigali Sdn Bhd (PCSB) and JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration Corporation (JX Nippon) signed a Heads of Agreement (HOA) to work together on a proposal to monetise the gas in the Bujang, Inas, Guling, Sepat, and Tujoh (BIGST) fields off the coast of Kerteh, Terengganu.
The BIGST opportunity was made available as part of the Malaysia Bid Round (MBR) 2020, in which several proposals were received from interested parties. PCSB and JX Nippon were chosen because their proposals and value propositions were the best.
The business value proposition by PCSB and JX Nippon will form the basis for the negotiation of the PSC for this cluster.
Signing the HOA on behalf of PCSB was its Chief Executive Officer, Hasliza Othman, while JX Nippon was represented by its Managing Director and Chief Representative in Malaysia, Yasuto Ariga. Mohamed Firouz Asnan, Senior Vice President of Malaysia Petroleum Management (MPM) for PETRONAS, and Aidil Shabudin, Senior General Manager of Resource Development and Management for MPM, were at the signing ceremony.
Aidil said, “The gas supply from BIGST fields is important for Peninsular Malaysia’s energy security given the significant potential that exists within the cluster. Because these fields contain high levels of carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology will be key solutions in monetising the fields, and this will be Peninsular Malaysia's first CCS project."
The BIGST cluster is also expected to speed up the development of other high-contaminant fields in Peninsular Malaysia, which did not happen before owing to the lack of complete CO2 handling infrastructure.
“PCSB is expected to bring to the table its capability in developing CCS projects, building on its recent experience on Kasawari CCS, which was sanctioned recently. PETRONAS would move closer to its aspiration of achieving Net Zero Carbon Emissions (NZCE) by 2050 through these carbon reduction solutions,” he added.
Source: PETRONAS Carigali
