KUALA LUMPUR: The government is expected to launch the Malaysia Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) Roadmap 2050 by the end of this month, the Dewan Rakyat was told.
Economy Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said the roadmap, titled Towards Green Economy, would outline the phased development of the country’s CCUS industry up to 2050.
“The Economy Ministry will launch the Malaysia CCUS Roadmap 2050 in the near future, hopefully by the end of this month.
“The document will outline the direction of the country’s CCUS industry development in phases until 2050,” he said in reply to a question from Datuk Ahmad Amzad Hashim (PN-Kuala Terengganu).
Akmal said the government was also conducting a study on the development of a CCUS cluster along the east coast, which was expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2027.
The study would examine opportunities across the CCUS value chain, including carbon capture, utilisation and storage, rather than focusing solely on geological storage sites.
Akmal said state governments would be consulted during the study to ensure development plans were strategically coordinated.
“We will involve the state governments in discussions to obtain their views and determine how these development plans can be structured strategically,” he said.
He said the study would also examine potential industry participants and opportunities arising from the proposed cluster.
On regulatory developments, he said CCUS Malaysia, the agency established following the enforcement of the Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage Act 2025 on Oct 1 last year, had issued two offshore assessment permits as of September this year.
Both permits were issued to applicants under Petronas to assess the suitability of geological carbon dioxide storage sites off the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia.
He said Petronas had also conducted preliminary assessments for a carbon capture and storage (CCS) hub in Kerteh.
The assessments identified the offshore Lawit field as a potential strategic carbon dioxide storage site.
The field was expected to remain capable of producing natural gas beyond 2035, meaning the development of Kerteh’s CCS infrastructure and storage capacity would depend on technical and commercial readiness.
Akmal said the initial phase of CCS hub development would instead prioritise Kuantan, although industries in Terengganu could still participate in the CCUS value chain.
The government was also implementing a pilot carbon capture project in the iron and steel industry in Kemaman, Terengganu.
He said the project was intended to establish baseline costs that could guide other industries in assessing the potential of CCUS technology to reduce carbon emissions.
The initiative was also expected to encourage wider participation by heavy industries in decarbonisation efforts.