ExxonMobil and Indonesia's state-owned oil firm Pertamina have signed an initial agreement to study the deployment of low-carbon technologies, including carbon storage and hydrogen.
The companies will work to identify areas in Indonesia with suitable geology to support carbon capture, storage and utilisation (CCUS), as well as the potential for the commercially viable use of CO2, ExxonMobil said.
"We are evaluating large-scale carbon capture and storage projects that have the potential to make the greatest impact in the highest-emitting sectors around the world, and there are opportunities in Indonesia and throughout southeast Asia," said Joe Blommaert, president of ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions.
The companies will also study the potential for low-carbon hydrogen, ExxonMobil said, without giving further details.
ExxonMobil is looking to build CO2 capture hubs in some of southeast Asia's heavy industrial areas such as Singapore and connect them to storage sites elsewhere in the region, Blommaert said at the Singapore International Energy Week in late October. CCUS will help unlock the potential of hydrogen in the region, he said.
Today's announcement aims to help advance Indonesia's net-zero ambitions, ExxonMobil said. Indonesia said in July that it plans to achieve net zero emissions by 2060 or sooner. But it still expects to coal to account for almost 40pc of its generation mix by mid-century, requiring around three quarters of its coal-fired power plants to be fitted with CCS technology by that date.
ExxonMobil said the agreement with Pertamina was signed "near" Glasgow, where the UN Cop 26 climate conference got underway two days ago.
