Petronas signs nature MoU

Petroliam Nasional Berhad, or Petronas, has signed a memorandum with Terengganu’s state government to explore forest and land projects that can generate carbon credits. (nst.com.my) The agreement was signed through the Terengganu Economic Planning Unit, known as UPEN, and covers work to identify and assess potential sites across the state for nature-based solutions projects. Petronas said the projects could include reforestation, conservation and sustainable land management. (publicnow.com) Petronas said the carbon credits from those projects are meant to help address its residual and hard-to-abate emissions under its net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 pathway. The company’s nature business is led by Giulia Sartori, who signed the memorandum with Terengganu State Secretary Dato’ Mohd Azmi Mohamad Daham. (nst.com.my) (chemxplore.com) Nature-based solutions are climate projects that use ecosystems as working infrastructure: forests, mangroves and peatlands absorb and store carbon while also protecting soil, water and wildlife. Petronas said any projects pursued under the memorandum would aim to meet international certification standards for high-quality carbon credits. (energy-pedia.com) The move adds land-use carbon management to a transition portfolio Petronas has spent the past two years building around carbon capture and storage and hydrogen. On its carbon management pages, the company says it is developing carbon capture and storage hubs in Malaysia and abroad as part of its decarbonisation business. (petronas.com) Terengganu has already become one of Petronas’s main energy-transition bases. In July 2025, Petronas, Tenaga Nasional Berhad and Terengganu Inc launched a green hydrogen hub and a hybrid hydro floating solar project in the state under Malaysia’s National Energy Transition Roadmap. (petronas.com) (energyglobal.com) Petronas has framed nature projects as part of its climate plan before, but this memorandum gives that strategy a state-level pipeline with named sites still to be screened. In its net-zero pathway booklet, the company says it will use both carbon capture and storage and nature-based climate solutions for emissions that are hardest to eliminate. (petronas.com) For Terengganu, the pitch is that carbon projects could turn forests and other ecosystems into a new revenue stream while keeping them intact. For Petronas, the next step is narrower: find land, test whether it qualifies under certification rules, and decide which projects can move from memorandum to development. (gulfoilandgas.com) (publicnow.com)