Jakarta, CNBC Indonesiaa – PT Pertamina (Persero) and the energy company from the United States, ExxonMobil are working together to develop Carbon Capture Storage (CCS) in the Java Sea. With an investment value of more than US$ 2 billion, CCS has a capacity of up to 3 giga tonnes of CO2.

The collaboration between the two was formalized through the signing of an Amendment to the Principles of Agreement as a continuation of the agreement produced at the G20 event last November 2022. The signing was carried out by Pertamina President Director Nicke Widyawati, Pertamina Hulu Energi President Director Wiko Migantoro, and President of Low Carbon Solutions, ExxonMobil Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. Irtiza Sayyed.

The signing was also witnessed by the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Ad-Interim Investment, Erick Thohir; Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Arifin Tasrif, as well as the United States Ambassador to the Republic of Indonesia.

In this agreement, Pertamina and ExxonMobil agreed to continue their collaboration to evaluate the CCS Hub in the western part of the Java Sea, namely the Asri Basin and the Sunda Basin. The CCS Hub at this location is expected to offer significant volumes of geological storage, which can capture and inject CO2 from domestic and regional industry.

Erick said that the agreement marked an important step in Indonesia’s journey as a leader in reducing emissions.

“The cutting-edge technology behind CCS Hub will not only reduce emissions and encourage low-carbon industries, but also create jobs and attract investment,” he said in a press release, quoted on Tuesday (14/11/2023).

Deputy for Maritime Sovereignty and Energy Coordination, Jodi Mahardi, added that the signed agreement was an important part of the long process carried out by the Indonesian Government to build the CCS ecosystem.

“The existence of this agreement proves that all instruments in Indonesia, especially from the government side, are ready to utilize the potential of Indonesian CCS for the advancement of low-carbon industry, increasing investment and opening new jobs for the Indonesian people,” he said.

Meanwhile, Senior Vice President, ExxonMobil Corporation Jack P. Williams said he was proud to be able to collaborate with Pertamina and the Indonesian Government on transformational projects.

“Together, we have the opportunity to reduce emissions and encourage economic growth in Indonesia and the entire region,” he stressed.

Furthermore, Nicke explained that Pertamina is consistently developing a decarbonization program. One of them is the development of the CCS Hub which will be built with strategic partners such as ExxonMobil.

According to Nicke, this project has the opportunity to store CO2 in strategic areas, with the development of the CCS Hub in the Java region, because it is relatively close to the locations of various industries. This CCS Hub will provide access to geological storage in the saline aquifer, which can accommodate at least 3 giga tonnes of CO2 from domestic and regional carbon-intensive industries.

“This project will enable Indonesia to become a regional leader in industrial decarbonization, because it has enormous carbon storage potential. The hope is that in the future Indonesia can become a CCS center in Southeast Asia,” said Nicke.

[Gambas:Video CNBC]

(rah/rah)