Shell looking to build carbon capture/storage hubs in Asia
Energy and petrochemical major Shell Global (Shell) plans to establish multiple carbon capture and storage (CCS) facilities in Southeast Asia, including potential locations such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, China, and India. CCS facilities will help consumers reduce carbon dioxide emissions – Shell’s first such facility in the region is expected to enter operations at the end of the decade.
Speaking on decarbonisation, Yu Li P’ing, Shell’s General Manager for CCS in Asia mentioned that is “fairly critical” for Shell to capture the company’s own emissions from its Energy & Chemicals Park in the Lion City, Singapore, and then to look for a storage solution either by pipeline or shipping.
“Within Asia Pacific itself, if you look at the different countries, they all provide different attributes to support a central CCS industrial hub proposal [in Singapore]. We’re certainly looking at […] Malaysia where we’ve already signed a joint study agreement with Petronas to explore potential storage and also for capture of CO2 (carbon dioxide) from our operations in-country as well as our operations outside of the country.”
Unlocking the potential for CCS in Asia will, however, require cross-border public-private partnerships, such as governments providing incentives or tax breaks, Shell noted.
Yu added, “What is very important is not just capturing our emissions but capturing the emissions of our customers — so ensuring that we provide a solution. A lot of our customers […] around Asia are looking for a storage solution for their emissions. [This] also enables them to start producing low-carbon products.”
Shell aims to have at least 25 million tonnes of storage capacity – with as much as 15 million tonnes per annum (tpa) CO2 storage capacity in Southeast Asia – by 2035, as CCS is a key pillar of its climate target to be a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050.
Currently, Shell is involved in two operational CCS projects — the operated Quest project in Canada and as a partner in the Chevron-operated Gorgon project in Australia. Shell is also a co-venturer in the Equinor-led Northern Lights CCS project under development in Norway, which should be built in the next couple of years.
About 40 million tpa of CO2 is currently captured globally; some agencies forecast this could increase to 3 gigatonnes (GT) per annum by the end of decade and to 5.635 GT by 2050.
