NGO: Consider implications of oil and gas exploration in Langkasuka basin

 

Environmental watchdog RimbaWatch has cautioned against the possible implications of Petronas's new oil and gas exploration project at the Langkasuka basin, located just 30km from Penang Island and 20km from Langkawi.

In a statement today, the group said the new exploration in the north of the Malacca Straits, not only detracts from Malaysia’s mitigation responsibilities but also threatens coastal marine biodiversity, livelihoods of fishing communities and local tourism.

"We urge the prime minister, Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Ministry and Energy Transition and Water Transformation Ministry to work with Petronas to develop a credible transition strategy based on sound methodologies and in accordance with international best practices on net-zero.

"This strategy should be committed to full transparency, accountability and a clear pathway towards the complete divestment of all existing and planned fossil fuel projects, including natural gas," it added.

Last November, Petronas announced that it had undertaken a new offshore multi-client 2D seismic survey in the area to explore and map the hydrocarbon potential in the open blocks of PM320 and PM321 of the Langkasuka basin.

This survey covers an area of over 38,000sqkm - aimed at acquiring approximately 8,000km of new 2D seismic data.

According to Petronas, its recent study of the Langkasuka basin indicates hydrocarbon potential in the untested deeper pre-tertiary formation, which prompted this seismic survey.

The first exploration probe is expected in the next three years to test this new geological play.

In response, Rimbawatch said that Malaysia suffers from the El Nino-induced heatwave, which is exacerbated by an average rise in global temperatures of 1.2°C since pre-industrial times and a continued rise in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions driven primarily by fossil fuel combustion.

The group highlighted that new oil and gas exploration is inconsistent with climate science, saying there is a consensus across all published studies that developing new oil and gas fields is “incompatible” with a 1.5°C target.

"Notably, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projects that if existing climate policies do not change to reflect the urgency of this threat, including policies related to using gas as a transition fuel, we are on a trajectory for 3.2°C warming by 2100, which is more than double the 1.5°C target.

"This will result in irreversible climate disasters at an unprecedented scale, including uninhabitable temperatures, major cities going underwater, widespread water shortages and the extinction of a million species of plants and animals," it added.

The group pointed out that a United Nations High-Level Expert Group report has warned that “net zero is entirely incompatible with continued investment in fossil fuels”, and that companies cannot claim to be net zero while continuing to build fossil fuel supply.

Absence of ‘safety net’

It stated there is an absence of a “safety net” for the management of emissions from the perspective of credible corporate climate governance.

"In fact, Petronas’ transition and decarbonisation strategies have a track record of performing poorly in international guidelines.

“The World Benchmarking Alliance, which scores corporate transition strategies, awarded Petronas’s strategy a rating of 13.5/100 in 2023.

"In addition, Petronas’ net zero pathway does not fulfil most of the requirements under the ISO’s Net Zero Guidelines, namely the exclusion of Scope 3 from any decarbonisation targets, an emissions scope which covers the vast majority of an oil and gas operator’s emissions," claimed Rimbwatch, adding that Malaysia has already exceeded its fair carbon budget based on its historical emissions in 2023. - Mkini