Indonesia's President Joko Widodo launched the construction of a carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) project in West Papua province operated by BP Plc on November 24, making it the country’s first carbon storage project.
According to a statement from energy minister Arifin Tasrif, this CCUS project has the potential to store up to 1.8 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide.
Joko Widodo (Center) launched the construction of a CCUS project in West Papua province operated by BP. (Photo: Joko Widodo/Facebook)
In September, an energy ministry official said BP will invest $2.6 billion in the project, with the first carbon injection projected in 2026. BP did not provide an investment figure.
This new project follows the completion of BP's $4.83 billion Tangguh Train 3 liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in West Papua which was completed in October.
Indonesia is keen to develop CCUS and CCS. The country has an estimated carbon storage capacity of 8 gigatonnes in depleted oil and gas reservoirs and 400 gigatonnes in saline aquifers.
Energy ministry data suggests that Indonesia currently has 15 CCS and CCUS projects in different stages of preparation, with a combined investment of nearly $8 billion, which includes BP's project.
While the international oil and gas industry is well-positioned to expand such technology to help achieve the goal of net-zero by 2050, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a report on Nov. 23 that it may not be a major, economically viable solution to curbing global warming if oil and gas production is not reduced.
During the same trip to West Papua, Jokowi also inaugurated the construction of a fertilizer plant in Fakfak, which is designed to yield 1.15 million metric tonnes of urea fertilizer and 825,000 metric tonnes of ammonia fertilizer.
The investment for the plant is estimated at 30 trillion rupiah ($1.94 billion), and construction is expected to be completed in 2038, according to a statement from the presidential palace.
