US oil giant Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) plans to take a position as much as $15 billion in petrochemical projects and carbon capture and storage (CCS) facilities in Indonesia.
This was revealed by Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) in an official statement on the presidential palace on Thursday after meeting with Exxon CEO Darren Woods during his visit to San Francisco to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
Earlier this week, Indonesia and Exxon reached a preliminary agreement to explore potential investments in petrochemical projects in Indonesia. In addition, Exxon and Indonesian national energy company Pertamina have agreed to explore a $2 billion investment in a CCS facility that may use two underground basins within the Java Sea.
Carole Gall, president of Exxon Mobil Indonesia, said these large-scale opportunities have great potential to drive industrial growth and decarbonization in Indonesia and the Asia-Pacific region.
The planned CCS installation is predicted to be the biggest within the region and able to capturing no less than 3 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide produced by the economic sector in Indonesia and beyond, Pertamina said. Meanwhile, the petrochemical complex is to be probably the most modern on the planet.
Indonesia wants to make use of dwindling oil and gas resources to store carbon dioxide and is working on regulations that may allow carbon dioxide imported from abroad to be stored within the country.
All these agreements were reached during President Joko Widodo’s visit to Washington to fulfill with US President Joe Biden ahead of this week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco.
After the meeting, Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi, who accompanied the President, confirmed that Exxon has plans to construct one in every of the world’s most up-to-date, environmentally friendly petrochemical refineries.
Marsudi said President Jokowi continues to encourage Exxon’s $15 billion investment plan. The president also invited international oil and gas firms from the United States to make modern and sustainable investments within the energy sector. They are also expected to play an energetic role in the event of environmentally friendly infrastructure, including: on the archipelago that was designated as the longer term capital of Indonesia.
