Bumi Armada Berhad and Navigator Holdings Ltd. have signed an agreement to establish a 50-50 joint venture to provide transportation services for carbon capture and storage in the UK.
Bluestreak CO2 Joint Venture “will design and implement a value chain of launch vessels that deliver to a floating carbon injection and storage unit,” a statement from Bumi Armada and its Nova-listed partner told Bursa Malaysia York announcing the non-binding agreement.
“The CO2 [carbon dioxide] it is intended to be subsequently injected into offshore storage aquifers and/or depleted oil and gas reservoirs in a controlled manner with full monitoring and management of the permanent storage site. This approach is expected to enable the Bluestreak CO2 joint venture to serve emitters without access to pipeline infrastructure, to effectively manage their CO2 emissions.”
The UK market potentially involves more than 30 million tonnes a year “from emitters that are not close to existing carbon capture, use and storage clusters”, the announcement notes.
The company would also help Bumi Armada achieve net zero emissions by 2050, Bumi Armada CEO Gary Christenson said at the presentation. Establishing carbon capture and sequestration facilities is one of its strategies, which also includes “applying emerging green technologies in new projects where applicable and practicable,” Bumi Armada says on its website.
The partners expect the first shipment of CO2 within three years from the final investment decision. Talks have been held with potential customers, according to the document.
The Bluestreak CO2 joint venture would serve customers excluded from “mega cluster” projects, Navigator chief executive Mads Peter Zacho said, calling the partnership the first shipping partnership in the carbon capture industry of the United Kingdom.
Bumi Armada and Navigator anticipate a definitive agreement by the end of the year.
The Malaysian company had $144.88 million (MYR 677.538 million) in cash and cash equivalents in the first quarter of 2023, when it posted a profit after tax of $42.98 million (MYR 201 million) on revenue of USD 116.32 million (MYR 543.987 billion). Bumi Armada had US$271.57 million (MYR1.27 billion) in liabilities as of March, according to its May 25 earnings report.
Meanwhile, Navigator reported cash and cash equivalents of $190.863 million at the end of the quarter, with net income of $18.85 million and revenue of $136.002 million. The company’s liabilities stood at $173.898 billion in March, it said in its May 22 earnings report.
Last year Bumi Armada said its two subsidiaries were in the process of being liquidated. Bumi Armada Ship Management Sendirian Bhd and Offshore Marine Ventures Sdn Bhd “are dormant and the liquidation is in line with those of BAB [Bumi Armada Bhd] rationalization exercise,” he said on January 14, 2022.
To contact the author, please email jov.onsat@rigzone.com
