KUALA LUMPUR (June 21): Bumi Armada Bhd has inked a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Navigator Holdings Ltd (Navigator) to establish a joint venture (JV) company to provide CO2 shipping and injection solutions in the United Kingdom (UK).

In a bourse filing on Wednesday (June 21), the floating infrastructure operator said Navigator is the owner and operator of the world’s largest fleet of handysize liquefied gas carriers.

It said the Bluestreak CO2 Joint Venture, to be owned 50% by Bumi Armada and 50% by Navigator, aims to provide an end-to-end solution for carbon emitters to capture, transport, sequester and store their carbon dioxide emissions in line with the UK’s Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy.

Bumi Armada said that the Bluestreak CO2 Joint Venture will design and implement a value chain of shuttle tankers delivering to a floating carbon storage & injection unit.

It said the complete value chain is expected to safely and reliably transport and provide buffer storage of liquid carbon dioxide.

“It is estimated that the potential market in the United Kingdom alone is over 30 million tonnes of CO2 per annum from emitters who are not proximate to existing awarded carbon capture, usage and storage clusters.

“Bumi Armada and Navigator are in initial discussions with a number of emitters and if successful, the first shipment of CO2 is anticipated by the parties to take place three years after taking the final investment decision,” it said.

Bumi Armada’s chief executive officer Gary Christenson said the collaboration is also in line with the company’s recently launched decarbonisation agenda to achieve net zero by 2050.

“This collaboration is a testament to our strong commitment towards providing the best decarbonisation solutions globally,” he said.

Navigator chief executive officer said the Bluestreak CO2 Joint Venture marks the first shipping partnership into the carbon capture sector in the UK.

Bumi Armada said the transaction is subject to the execution of a definitive JV agreement, approval by the boards of directors of both Bumi Armada and Navigator, regulatory approvals where applicable, and other customary closing conditions.

It said the parties anticipate entering into a definitiveJV agreement by the end of the fourth quarter of 2023.

The commercialisation of the Bluestreak CO2 Joint Venture is subject to sufficient long-term customer commitments, it added.

Trading in the securities of Bumi Armada was halted for one hour from 9am to 10am on Wednesday.