Exxon and Pertamina – the Indonesian oil and gas corporation, signed a memorandum of understanding during the COP26 conference on Tuesday to work together on using carbon capture and storage (CCS) in Southeast Asia’s region.
The two companies will “evaluate the potential for large-scale deployment of low-carbon technologies in Indonesia,” – according to a statement from ExxonMobil. The expansion of carbon capture in Indonesia by oil giant Exxon is estimated to cost a whopping $500 million.
“Our provisional estimate for investment needs is around $500 million, excluding operating costs that will be incurred during CCS operations,” said Daniel Purba, Pertamina’s senior vice president of corporate strategy.
The carbon capture and storage hub that is under discussion includes installations in two Indonesian oil and gas fields – the Gundih field in Cepu and the Sukowati field in Bojonegoro, in Central and East Java respectively. The companies also plan to build a 4 km (2.49 miles) gas pipeline from Gundih to a reservoir where they would inject the emissions and another 30 km gas pipeline from Sukowati.
ExxonMobil announced in October it will be looking into several regions around the world for multiple carbon capture and storage (CCS) opportunities. Southeast Asia is one of the regions the company targets carbon capture investments to reduce industrial emissions.
Relevant: Exxon Moves Forward With Carbon Capture Expansion In Southeast Asia
The hub in Indonesia is also similar to the one the company is proposing to build in Houston, Texas. CCS is deemed essential by Low Carbon Solutions – the low emissions division of Exxon, to unlock large-scale industrial decarbonization and meet the world’s net-zero objectives.
Relevant: Exxon Talks With Government About Proposed Carbon Capture Hub
Critics, however, say that the technology is only used by oil and gas corporations as leverage to continue investing in fossil fuels and prolong the life of coal, oil and gas in the energy sector.
The collaboration between Exxon and Pertamina is one step closer to making carbon capture happen in the hard-to-abate sectors globally.
