JAKARTA – Indonesia issued a presidential regulation on carbon capture and storage (CCS) that will allow CCS operators to set aside 30 per cent of their storage capacity for imported carbon dioxide (CO2), the document showed on Jan 31.
The regulation, which took effect on Tuesday, said oil and gas contractors could utilise depleted reservoirs or aquifers in their blocks for CCS operations, which the government has said could potentially store more than 400 billion tonnes of CO2-equivalent.
The Indonesian government would collect royalties from storage fees charged by the CCS operators.
CO2 stored for the CCS operations could come from emissions by upstream oil and gas activities, refineries, power plants and by industrial activities from Indonesia and overseas.
Companies that operate CCS could allocate 30 per cent of their total carbon storage capacity for storage of carbon originating from abroad, the regulation added.
To store carbon from abroad, Indonesia would allow only emitters that have invested in the country, or are affiliated with companies that have done so, and the government must have a bilateral agreement with the government where the emission originated from.
BP in November 2023 launched construction of a carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) project in West Papua province.
Indonesia’s state energy firm Pertamina has agreed with US oil majors Exxon Mobil and Chevron to discuss investment of CCS projects in Indonesia.
Energy Ministry data shows there are 15 CCS and CCUS projects in various stages of preparation in the country with a combined investment of nearly US$8 billion (S$10.7 billion), including BP’s project.
CCS projects, though, remain controversial. Critics say they are unproven at such a large scale to reliably store large amounts of CO2 for the long-term and would need constant monitoring to ensure the CO2 does not leak back into the atmosphere.
There are also concerns that capturing and storing CO2 delays the shift away from polluting fossil fuels, the burning of which is the main cause of climate change. REUTERS
