Work together to address energy crisis, O&G players told
13 Sep 2022
Oil & gas (O&G) players need to work together as stakeholders in the system to address the power crisis by providing clean, reliable, affordable energy, according to Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) president and group CEO Tengku Muhammad Taufik.
“What we are seeing today is an energy crisis, a food crisis, an inflation crisis and if left unchecked, all of these will converge into what we cannot contend with, which is a world security crisis,” he said in his keynote address at the Oil & Gas Asia (OGA) 2022, the Malaysia Oil & Gas Services Exhibition and Conference (Mogsec) and Petrochemicals Sustainability Conference (PSC) today.
He opined that the energy crisis was not completely unexpected because history would show that there was a lack of new O&G investments and fewer discoveries in recent decades, which left the market unprepared for shortages. This occurred despite calls from the industry to increase O&G production as the only viable option in the short term.
“Collectively, as an industry (we) are faced with customers, financiers, partners and policymakers (who) continue to be universally united in recognising and pushing for a lower carbon and more sustainable future. Thus, when regions such as Asia, which accounts for close to 60% of the world’s population, more than half of the world’s gross domestic product, is faced with a monumental task meeting growing energy needs,” he said.
Muhammad Taufik said the industry has a responsibility to respond with energy which considers addressing the issues of affordability, security and sustainability. He pointed out that there is a stark contrast between more mature economies such as China and Japan and developing countries in the region.
“It is crucial for countries such as Malaysia to formulate its own realistic and practical transition pathway must be responsibly orchestrated to ensure equitable outcome. Therefore, in our duty as stakeholders in this energy system, it is imperative that we navigate challenges with a deep rooted purpose. We must operate together as an effective engine that provides energy that is clean, reliable, affordable and all of must work together to co-create an ecosystem that is resilient.”
Globally, he has observed companies forming collaborations to accelerate technology update and create an array of new energy streams, while sharing the resources and investments, which he urged industry players to collectively look into.
He added that the O&G industry has little choice but to pursue and deliver greater technological innovation at an unprecedented scale. Oil prices will be subject to correction, which even in a crisis, it is unrealistic to hope oil that prices can reach and remain beyond three digits into the foreseeable future.
Additionally, he remarked that another area that is ripe for greater collaboration, is carbon capture, utilisation and storage. The region of East Malaysia offers a site of carbon dioxide storage, particularly off the coast of Malaysia as well as in Indonesia. These potential storage sites is strategically located to address emissions from energy and industrial sectors of key markets not only in Asean but in greater Asia as a whole.
The company has ambitions to unlock the vast potential carbon storage capacity in Malaysia to accelerate the decarbonisation of its operations by managing a carbon storage portfolio, as well as establishing a regional storage hub for carbon emissions as a new revenue generator.
“With the delivery of (our) Kasawari project, it will be one of the largest CCUS projects in the world, with a capability of capturing around 3.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually when it comes on stream,” he said.
OGA 2022, Mogsec and PSC are focused on sustainability, growth opportunities and innovative technologies to support the global-wide energy transition in response to market volatility and climate change. The event marks the first time three events are held concurrently, with OGA hosted by Informa Markets Malaysia, MOGSEC by Malaysian Oil, Gas and Energy Services Council and PSC by Malaysian Petrochecmicals Association in a partnership to reinforce Malaysia as the region’s oil, gas, energy and petrochemicals hub to collectively address pressing issues affecting the industry post-pandemic.
Source: The Sun Daily
