Jakarta – The government is preparing a regulation on the legality of carbon emission (CO2) injection from abroad into reservoirs in the country, according to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (EMR). The regulation is prepared as a follow-up to the carbon emission trade between countries that will be implemented in Indonesia.
Director General of Oil and Gas of ESDM, Tutuka Ariadji, said that the Ministry of EMR, together with the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MoEF), are discussing the status of CO2, which will not be considered as waste so that it can be imported and then injected into reservoirs. “CO2 should not be considered as waste. We will not produce B3, we propose that CO2 as a commodity,” he said.
Ariadji said he is optimistic that the regulation, which will be a presidential regulation (Perpres), can be completed this year. At the same time, he said the Presidential Regulation as the legal basis for implementing Carbon Capture Storage and Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCS/CCUS) across countries will soon enter the harmonisation stage between ministries/agencies.
Various studies have mentioned the potential of Indonesia’s reservoirs to support the implementation of CCS/CCUS is very large. Based on studies conducted by the oil and gas agency of the Ministry of EMR and other studies, Indonesia has a storage potential of around two giga tonnes of CO2 in depleted oil and gas reservoirs scattered in several areas and around ten giga tonnes of CO2 in saline aquifers in West Java and South Sumatra Basin. The results of another study conducted by ExxonMobil estimate a much greater storage potential of around 80 giga tonnes of CO2 in saline aquifers, while the results of the Rystad Energy study estimate more than 400 giga tonnes of CO2 in oil and gas reservoirs and saline aquifers in Indonesia.
Indonesia already has 15 CCS/CCUS projects spread from Aceh to Papua. Most of these projects are targeted to be onstream before 2030, with the total CO2 injection potential between 2030 and 2035 ranging from 25 to 68 million tonnes. The government plans to develop regulations and studies of CO2 storage mapping outside oil and gas working areas. (Hartatik)
