16 NEW ENERGY
@ green | November-December , 2020
allocated to EU member States to mobilise the green agenda ,” he said .
Notably , he highlighted the EU was also considering imposing a “ CO2 border tax ” via the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism ( CBAM ) which would extend a price on carbon to imported products from countries not committed to nett-zero , a measure to prevent ‘ carbon leakages ’
Although the government of Malaysia has not declared their nett-zero target , Zainul said Petronas was exemplary by being the first oil and gas company in Asia to express their aspiration for nett-zero carbon emission by 2050 .
Petronas has set its renewable energy target of 3GW and cap their emissions to 49.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent for their Malaysian operations by 2024 .
Zainul , however , cautioned energy transition should not result in stranded national strategic assets ( resources such as natural gas , renewables , existing infrastructure and human capital ).
“ Nations should transit to low carbon system while extracting value from existing assets . The energy transition is costly , and the energy trilemma is real . We need to balance energy security , affordability and environmental sustainability ,” he said .
In this regard , Zainul lauded Sarawak ’ s hydrogen strategy , which will leverage their vast hydropower potential to generate green hydrogen and their substantial natural gas reserves for blue hydrogen .
He said Sarawak ’ s strategic position as the national hub for Malaysia ’ s LNG ( liquefied natural gas ) availed the State to extend their infrastructure to export blue and green hydrogen .
Sarawak is also innovative in making the best use of space whereby instead of using valuable land for large
scale solar , they are opting for floating solar on their hydropower reservoirs .
Coexist
The oil and gas industry must work together with green energy instead of feeling threatened by the emergence of the latter .
“ With green energy crowding the energy space , it is not unexpected that some people in the E & P ( exploration and production ) and Oilfield Services business may feel threatened that their livelihoods will be taken away . They fear that they will be made redundant , irrelevant and lose out completely .
“ However , we should embrace the emergence of green energy as an opportunity rather than a threat . They should coexist ; the oil and gas players must adapt and diversify to remain relevant .”
A long-term energy supply strategy , he said , was the most fundamental strategy for any country , including Malaysia .
“ It is the backbone of our future development and growth . Access to the appropriate levels of energy is crucial to propelling us towards achieving our goal of being a developed nation .
“ It is also is essential that Malaysia has a strategy which optimises all our resources , which includes our fossil fuel assets , solar energy assets , our existing infrastructure and human capital , among others , to enable us to be competitive in a global setting .
“ Malaysia must think out its energy supply masterplan carefully … a plan that retains our comparative advantage and competitive edge in certain economic areas ,” he said .
Based on what he had covered , and referring to the Energy Mix Evolution Cycle , he concluded that we were already at the breakpoint . A rebalancing of the energy mix is inevitable , albeit the process will take time .
The climate change agenda is at risk unless we are committed to decarbonisation , and if we all work together to reduce our carbon footprints .
Achieving nett-zero is crucial and will require collaborative efforts from all parties ; the government , energy players , financial markets and academic sectors .
Green energy is here to stay , and its share in the energy mix will continue to grow . Hydrogen is potentially a dark horse in the future energy mix .
The demand for oil and gas is not going to go away anytime soon . There will always be a demand for fossil fuel , and oil is likely to be a premium commodity in the future .
However , oil and gas companies must adapt to the changing energy space if they want to remain relevant , investable and sustainable . They must start to make investments that will lower their carbon footprints . They must be part of the solution and not just be part of the problem . — @ green