Pertamina and Air Liquide to develop CCU technology at the Balikpapan refinery

It is a form of Pertamina's commitment to implementing Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) aspects and supporting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction.

This cooperation agreement was realised through a joint study agreement (JSA) signing by the President Director of Pertamina, Nicke Widyawati, and President Director of PT Air Liquide Indonesia, Marloes Moerman, in Paris, France, on 17 May 2022.

Present at the signing of this collaboration were Deputy Minister of BUMN I, Pahala Nugraha Mansury, Group CEO of Air Liquide, François Jackow, and VP for European and International Affairs, Laurent Dublanchet.

Within the framework of this JSA, Pertamina and Air Liquide will conduct a joint study on carbon dioxide CO₂ syngas and flue gas capture technology application from hydrogen production in the Balikpapan refinery area.

The captured CO₂ emissions will be compressed and channeled to a potential CO₂ storage area in the Kutai Basin, East Kalimantan, as a solution for low-carbon hydrogen production or blue hydrogen.

Some of the CO₂ will also be converted into value-added products, methanol which can be mixed with fuel oil for the low-carbon fuel production.

Deputy Minister I of State-Owned Enterprises, Pahala Nugraha Mansury, said that the government has committed to reducing GHG emissions and net zero emissions by 2060 as outlined in Presidential Regulation No. 98/2021. The Presidential Regulation is translated into 48 derivative rules, and several regulations are being drafted, such as National Determined Contribution (NDC) per sector, carbon economic value, and carbon tax.

"The Ministry of SOEs has committed to start decarbonisation and actively leading the decarbonisation agenda with three initiative pillars, which includes reducing end-to-end emission, building adjacent businesses, and exploring step-out opportunities," said Pahala.

According to Pahala, this initiative has an aggressive target of reducing around 85 million tpy of CO₂e or contributing 10% to the National Determined Contribution in 2030.

"The CCUS technology application can increase oil and gas production while reducing GHG emissions significantly," added Pahala.

Pahala continued that the CCUS technology enables Pertamina's refineries to make available CO₂ for either storage (CCS) or use (CCU) and integrates this sector into a circular economy.

President Director of Pertamina, Nicke Widyawati, said the carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) technology application is one of the initiatives to reduce carbon emissions from Pertamina’s refinery facilities, as well as a solution to increase oil and gas production in the energy transition era.

"Currently, the energy transition is a priority issue. Pertamina has played an important role in leading the transition of Indonesia's energy industry," said Nicke.

Nicke also added that Pertamina is targeting a 30% reduction in GHG emissions and increasing the renewable energy mix from 9.2% in 2019 to 17.7% in 2030.

At the same time, Indonesia holds the G20 Presidency by prioritising the transition to sustainable energy as one of the main issues.

"We hope that the signing of the JSA between Pertamina and Air Liquide will have a positive impact on accelerating the implementation of low-carbon technology and providing Low Carbon Energy Resilience in Indonesia," added Nicke.

Through this collaboration, it is hoped that it will accelerate green technology application in providing low-carbon energy while maintaining global climate change.

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/the-environment/20052022/pertamina-and-air-liquide-to-develop-ccu-technology-at-the-balikpapan-refinery/