Indonesia and ExxonMobil have signed two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) aimed at developing carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects in the country.
The agreement was signed during a bilateral meeting between the U.S. and Indonesia in Washington, DC on Monday, November 13 and came before the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting on Wednesday in San Francisco.
The CCS projects will have a $2 billion budget and are part of a broader $15 billion investment agreement between ExxonMobil and Indonesia which will see the development of a large petrochemical hub focused on the production of polymers to satisfy the region’s growing demand.
The hub would take advantage of the reported 3 gigaton CO2 storage potential in the area and has been in the works for several years with ExxonMobil and Indonesia’s state-owned oil company Pertamina progressing through the different initial stages.
Relevant: Pertamina Partners With Chevron & Exxon On Carbon Capture
The country has been working with multiple oil majors on developing its CCS infrastructure and there are currently 15 CCS and CCUS projects in various stages of development, with a collective investment value of nearly $8 billion, including the Tangguh CCUS project by British major BP.
Indonesia is also exploring the opportunities to become a CO2 capture hub for the greenhouse gas from the entire region. The government recently began working on allowing cross-border transport and storage of CO2.
Southeast Asia has a theoretical storage capacity of 300 gigatons across its continetal shelf according to Exxon estimates.
Read more: Indonesia Preparing To Allow Cross-Border Carbon Storage, Says Govt Official
