Dinesh Pissurlenkar, President of Worley Asia, in an exclusive interview with Asia Business Outlook, shares his thoughts on the current energy landscape in the Asian economy and the promising energy alternatives while underscoring the role of digital transformation in paving the way to a carbon-free energy generation. He has been a part of the energy, chemicals, and resources sector for close to 30 years now. Dinesh also serves as a member of the board of Ranhill Worley in Malaysia and Worley Services India Private Limited.
The energy transition scene path towards Net Zero is a complex, multi-decadal process, the scale and speed of which the world has not seen before. Worley is partnering with Princeton University to deliver a series of thought leadership papers called “From Ambition to Reality” to help understand the paradigm shift the world has undergone and how industry participants can rise to the challenge of the most significant infrastructure feat posed to mankind. We recently published the fourth chapter in this series, and it tells us that a trust deficit is hindering the speed and pace required to deliver the energy transition.
There are five factors that must be considered when delivering in a complex region like Asia. The first is posing a requirement for the transition in terms of socio-economic value rather than economic value, the second is the development of technologies, and the third is standardizing all the technologies, which permits replication with ease. Fourthly, all the aforementioned has to be carried out via collaboration as unaccompanied development is a herculean task, and transparency while collaborating is necessary so the common goal can be achieved. The last vital factor is the digital front; this has to be carried out with haste, as modeling and monitoring can be done for measurements so as to keep expectations on a predictable spectrum.
Asia, in particular, is gearing towards a series of diverse projects to achieve decarbonization, mainly circular economy, green steel, green hydrogen production, and research in biofuels. The road to net zero presents an opportunity to reshape the energy landscape and help reduce the impacts of climate change. But it cannot be achieved by a single stakeholder group – it needs all the participants including businesses, policymakers, financiers, and communities to collaborate like never before.
Asia is a dynamic zone in terms of opportunities. The energy needs and priorities of countries also vary significantly. Some nations are heavily reliant on coal, while others are rapidly expanding their renewable energy portfolios. As a company, we remain flexible and adaptable in our approach, offering solutions that align with the unique energy mix and transition pathways of each market.
Carbon capture technology is showing a lot of promise and we can expect a surge in the number of these projects that will be undertaken in the future. The Kasawari project in Malaysia is one of the biggest carbon capture projects in the world, there is more yet to come. The transition to a hydrogen economy is also gaining traction. Significant investment opportunities have presented themselves in this area. China is already leading in this space, which proves the correlation between resources and opportunity. There are opportunities for us to help our customers with conventional energy decarbonization. Conventional energy can be fragmented into offshore and onshore operations. The onshore LNG refinery expansion and petrochemical industry is a good example.
Energy security is the goal of every country. Oil and chemicals are another aspect that is seeing an influx of investments. Countries like India, Indonesia, and Malaysia are continuing to build refineries and O2C (Oil-to-Chemicals) complexes and centering their energy security on these facilities.
The major challenge for the continent is the uneven distribution of economic conditions; some nations are witnessing rapid growth while some of them are undergoing a shutdown. Government policies also play an equally important role and have to be capable of nourishing the opportunities that are being presented. Technology innovations are also a challenge because the current mounting obstacles demand sufficiently advanced solutions while maintaining nominal capital intensity. Working on all these challenges simultaneously can yield a result in a period of three to ten years.
The concept of green steel was born from the need to reduce carbon output in the chemical and steel industry. Carbon capture has also been touted as the panacea for decarbonization, and this technology can capture the pre-existing emitted carbon, store it, or convert it and use it for suitable applications. Heavy industries must look into electrifying all their operations instead of being reliant on fossil fuels. Renewable energy adoption must be considered; green hydrogen coupled with the implementation of green economy principles can reduce waste while maximizing resource utilization.
The pandemic has presented the flaws of the world without a solid digital infrastructure. It is impossible to function without data. Technology in terms of digital and data analytics is transforming the energy landscape in several ways, AI and predictive analysis are capable of gauging the energy supply-demand gap allowing efficient resource allocation. This reduces waste and improves the overall efficiency of the system.
Real-time monitoring and control systems can proactively identify performance issues, create faster responses to potentially occurring failures, and minimize the downtime of the systems. Digital twins can carry out these operations without causing disruptions to real-world operations. They permit optimization of energy assets in a safe virtual environment. These technologies can be used to streamline current processes, reducing human error and improving the safety of all those involved. This action will allow the workforce to focus on high-value activities.
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