Feasibility Assessment Towards Decarbonizing Malaysia's Longest Natural Gas Transmission Pipeline
Authors: Yusof N. Binti , Hussien H. , Jaafar A. , Mohamad M. 
Published: February 2024

Malaysia's natural gas transmission pipeline, owned by PETROLIAM NASIONAL BERHAD, is transporting up to 3,500 MMscfd of natural gas and distributed to various customers covering the whole Peninsular Malaysia. As an effort towards supporting Net Carbon Zero Emission (NZCE) by 2050, a feasibility study to evaluate the technical and economic viability of blending hydrogen into existing natural gas transmission pipeline network was conducted. Main objective was to evaluate the doability of reducing CO2 emission by supplying greener energy to pipeline's main equipment as well as the end customers.

All technical barriers especially in the aspect of blending ratio, material compatibility, impact to the existing equipment, safety, and other techno-economic elements that will define energy-transition concept will be addressed. These includes identifying factors that characterize the opportunities, cost, and risk of the blending. The feasibility study also evaluating the initial evidence-base that hydrogen can be safely blended into existing natural gas transmission pipeline system at certain volume percentage, without affecting the requirement of gas customers or modifying their appliances and equipment. It was also the intent of this study to evaluate whether the existing pipeline is fit for operation with hydrogen-natural gas blended condition or not. This study considers factors such as the existing pipeline infrastructure, gas composition, operational parameters, customer's gas requirement and potential modifications required to accommodate hydrogen.

The crucial step during this feasibility study is analyzing the composition of the natural gas and determining the optimal hydrogen blending ratio. This analysis helps in assessing the compatibility of the pipeline materials with hydrogen and enables the calculation of safe blending ratios. The existing natural gas pipeline infrastructure was assessed for its suitability to handle hydrogen. This evaluation includes considering factors such as pipeline material compatibility, joint integrity, weld quality, and potential impacts of hydrogen embrittlement. It also considers the compatibility of existing equipment such as compressor, valve and meter with hydrogen blending gas. Infrastructure upgrade was assessed as well during study to accommodate hydrogen blending requirement. An economic assessment was conducted to evaluate the financial aspects of hydrogen blending initiative. This includes assessing the cost of infrastructure upgrades, hydrogen production or procurement, operational expenses, and potential emissions reduction credits.

Lastly, the most importance scope of the study are risk assessment and safety study. A comprehensive safety analysis is conducted to identify potential hazards associated with hydrogen blending, such as flammability, leak detection, and emergency response measures. This analysis helps develop safety protocols, risk mitigation strategies, and guidelines for handling hydrogen in the pipeline system.