RI pushes for CCS tech to cut carbon emissions

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta  

Fossil-fuel-addicted Indonesia is considering implementing carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology to cut emissions, prevent climate change and win money from rich nations under a global emissions pact. 

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro and State Minister for the Environment Rachmat Witoelar said Thursday that CCS technology was the most practical method for containing large quantities of carbon emissions. 

"But it needs extra work to make it feasible," Purnomo told participants of a two-day workshop on CCS attended by dozens of players of the country's energy and oil and gas sectors. 

Purnomo said pilot projects were required to assess whether CCS was technologically and economically feasible. 

"International cooperation is required to resolve technical, financial and policy issues to ensure that CCS can be implemented," he said. 

CCS is a mechanism whereby carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted from industrial and energy-related plants is injected into geological formations instead of released into the atmosphere. 

Fossil fuel burning is the second-largest producer of CO2 in the country after forest fires, the government has said. 

There are currently about 70 oil and gas companies operating in the country. 

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in 2006 issued a presidential decree mandating an increase in the percentage of renewable energy usage to 17 percent by 2025. 

It is estimated that CCS could cut energy sector emissions by 40 percent. 

Negotiators from 190 countries are scheduled to meet in the Polish city of Poznan in December to discuss moves to cut greenhouse gas emissions. 

It is expected the climate change conference will agree to include CCS as a flexible mechanism under the clean development mechanism (CDM). 

The CDM encourages non-obligated countries, such as Indonesia, to host emissions cutting projects. Rich countries would then provide financial assistance to the country on a tons of emissions cut basis. 

Experts have estimated that CDM project developers would pay Indonesia US$10 for every ton of CO2 it captured using CCS. 

"Therefore, we need a predictable price per carbon (captured) if we are to implement CCS. It is a carbon business," said Hardiv Situmeang, chairman of the Indonesian National Committee for the World Energy Council. 

He said CCS technology would be beneficial in Norway, as the government charged a tax of $50 per ton of carbon dioxide released. 

The State Minister for Environment estimated that rising fuel consumption could see emissions from the energy sector skyrocket to 2,878 million tons in 2050 from the 977 million tons forecast for 2008. 

Chief researcher at the Research and Development Center for Oil and Gas Technology (Lemigas) Hadi Purnomo said CCS technology could pump remaining oil in old wells in Indonesia to the surface, increasing the country's oil production by 60 percent. 

The country's oil reserves stand at an estimated 61.1 billion barrels. 

A recent study by Lemigas shows that East Kalimantan and South Sumatra could be selected as potential candidates for CCS projects since many depleted oil and gas reservoirs are located near CO2 emitting sources, including an LNG plant in Bontang. 

Natuna Island is another potential site for CCS, Hadi said.