JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s state energy company PT Pertamina said late on Tuesday it will jointly study carbon capture technology at its refinery in Balikpapan with a local unit of French gas company Air Liquide.
Pertamina and Air Liquide Indonesia, signed a joint study agreement on capturing carbon emissions from its Balikpapan hydrogen production facility and storing the carbon in the Kutai basin area off East Kalimantan province.
Some of the emissions would be converted into products like methanol, which can be used to produce low-carbon fuels, Pertamina said in the statement.
Indonesia, which relies heavily on fossil fuels for its energy, aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2060 and aims to nearly double the proportion of renewables in its energy mix to 23% by 2025.
Pertamina aims to slash its greenhouse gas emissions by 30% and increase its renewable energy mix to 17.7% by 2030.
“We hope…the agreement between Pertamina and Air Liquide will have a positive impact on accelerating the implementation of low-carbon technology and providing low-carbon energy resilience in Indonesia,” chief executive Nicke Widyawati said in the statement.
Pertamina has been exploring carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technology to offset emissions as it boosts oil and gas production, Nicke said.
The company has signed a deal to explore lower carbon business opportunities in Indonesia with U.S. energy company Chevron Corporation.
It also has a deal with ExxonMobil Corp to assess the potential for large-scale implementation of CCUS and hydrogen production at three of Pertamina’s facilities.
(Reporting by Bernadette Christina; Editing by Fransiska Nangoy and Kanupriya Kapoor)
