TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian government and US energy company ExxonMobil signed two memorandums of understanding (MoU) to support the development of the potential for carbon capture and storage (CCS) in Indonesia. The two technology-related agreements were signed in the middle of the US-Indonesia bilateral meeting in Washington on Monday, November 13.

The signatories were Jodi Mahardi, the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment Affairs's Deputy for Maritime Sovereignty and Energy Coordination, and Zoe Barinaga, Vice President at ExxonMobil Chemical International Major Growth Ventures Ltd.

In a written statement received on Tuesday, November 14, Jodi said that this agreement proves that all instruments in Indonesia, especially from the government side, are ready to utilize the potential of CCS Indonesia "for the advancement of low-carbon industry, increasing investment, and opening new jobs for the Indonesian people,"

On the next occasion, Pertamina (Persero) president director Nicke Widyawati signed an Amendment to the Principles of Agreement (HoA) which allows further progress of the CCS Hub by PT Pertamina (Persero) with ExxonMobil.

The MoU between the Indonesian Government and ExxonMobil contains an agreement to explore the evaluation and development of a state-of-the-art petrochemical complex in Indonesia that will produce high-quality polymers to meet Asia's growing market demand.

The investment plan is expected to also create jobs and business opportunities during the construction period, as well as jobs for production operations, maintenance, and related services. The plan will be designed as a low-emission petrochemical complex that takes advantage of surrounding CO2 storage opportunities, such as the CCS Hub being evaluated by ExxonMobil and Pertamina PT (Persero).

The CCS Hub under evaluation is expected to offer significant volumes of geological storage, which can capture and inject CO2 from domestic and regional industries and further embody Indonesia's leadership in industrial decarbonization.

Energy Minister Arifin Tasrif believes that this collaboration will not only have an impact on reducing emissions but will also create job opportunities.

Antara

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