In a statement today, JX president and CEO Toshiya Nakahara said the proposal involves the development of high carbon dioxide (CO2) gas fields offshore Peninsular Malaysia, and the initiation of discussions on the possible acquisition of interests in these gas fields.

JX, which operates oil development businesses, conducted a joint study with Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp (currently known as the Japan Organisation for Metals and Energy Security) from April 2020 until September 2021, based on an agreement with Petronas.

The study was conducted to pursue the possibility of commercialisation of the gas fields in an environmentally-friendly scheme by capturing CO2 from the produced gas and reinjecting them in-situ or to nearby mature gas fields by using the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology.

“Since the study concluded that the development of such high CO2 gas field is feasible with low environmental impact by utilising the CCS technology, JX has decided to further evaluate these gas fields with PCSB and work together towards submitting the business value proposal to Petronas.

“JX understands that this initiative contributes not only to the stable supply of natural gas to Peninsular Malaysia, but also towards expanding its business in Malaysia, which is one of the core countries for JX,” the company said.