Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd. (MOL) has principally reached an agreement with Petronas CCS Ventures Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas), and MISC Berhad (MISC) for the potential establishment of a joint venture to invest in the development and monetization of liquefied carbon dioxide (LCO2) carriers for carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration (CCUS) projects.
In February 2022, MOL concluded an MOU with Petronas, and in June 2023, obtained approval in principle (AiP) for the design of an LCO2 carrier and floating storage and offloading (FSO). MISC recently became a partner in this collaboration and will cooperate with MOL in the development of various transport methods, mainly LCO2 carriers, as well as the optimal business model for addressing various transport needs in the future, according to the companies.
The 2022 MOU centered on the study of LCO2 for conducting CCUS business within the Asia Pacific and Oceania region. MOL described its role as studying specifications of LCO2 tankers from the standpoint of the entire CCUS value chain with the aim of establishing the optimal means of ocean transport for captured CO2.
Both Det Norsk Veritas AS (DNV) and the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) earlier this year approved MOL’s LCO2 design. ABS also issued an AiP for the FSO. Both the carrier and the FSO were jointly developed by MOL, Petronas, and the Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute.
Petronas, TotalEnergies Carbon Neutrality Ventures, and Mitsui & Co. Ltd. earlier this year agreed to develop carbon storage on the Malay peninsula including both saline aquifers and depleted offshore fields (OGJ Online, June 26, 2023).
