Chevron and Pertamina team up for lower carbon business in Indonesia

U.S. energy major Chevron and Indonesian state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina have partnered up to explore lower carbon business opportunities, including carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) and hydrogen.

In a statement from 12 May, Chevron and Pertamina said they want to look into geothermal technologies. These include carbon offsets through nature-based solutions; carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS); as well as lower carbon hydrogen development, production, storage, and transport.

The partnership between Chevron and Pertamina is part of efforts to support the government of Indonesia’s net-zero emission target in 2060. Moreover, Pertamina committed to increasing its renewable energy mix from 9.2 per cent in 2019 to 17.7 per cent in 2030.

The partnership follows the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Washington, DC.

“This MoU demonstrates Chevron and Pertamina’s commitment to continue identifying lower carbon opportunities through collaboration and partnership between Chevron, national energy companies, and governments, all of which have a shared interest in advancing national energy transition,” said Jeff Gustavson, president of Chevron New Energies. “Through our potential work in Indonesia, and the entire Asia Pacific region, we hope to provide affordable, reliable, ever-cleaner energy, and help the industries and customers who use our products advance their lower carbon goals.”

“This partnership is a strategic step for Pertamina and Chevron to complement each other’s strengths and develop lower carbon energy projects and solutions to promote energy independence and domestic energy security,” said CEO of Pertamina Nicke Widyawati.

Currently, Pertamina has a total installed geothermal capacity of 1,877 megawatts (MW) originating from 13 geothermal work areas.

In addition, Pertamina is also diversifying geothermal development. There is an ongoing green hydrogen pilot project being developed in the Ulubelu Area with a production target of 100 kilograms per day.

Nicke added Pertamina is also developing the implementation of CCS and CCUS as one of the company’s strategies to reduce carbon emissions in two oil and gas fields; namely Gundih and Sukowati. The company is also reviewing the commercialization of the application of CCUS technology in the Sumatra region.

The Indonesian government currently has an energy transition roadmap as part of the Grand National Energy Strategy. In the roadmap, the use of renewable energy is targeted to reach 23 per cent by 2025.

Meanwhile, the government has also acknowledged the importance of a collaborative approach to achieving lower carbon goals.

“Without a doubt, efforts to boost lower carbon energy projects cannot be done alone. In the future, we hope that world-class oil and gas companies, such as Pertamina and Chevron, can partner to further reduce carbon emissions and advance energy transition as mandated by the Government of Indonesia,” concluded Luhut B. Pandjaitan, CEO of PT Pertamina.

Last year, Chevron revealed plans to triple its total capital investment to $10 billion through 2028 and listed its growth targets for renewable fuels, hydrogen, and carbon capture through 2030.

Earlier this month, Chevron signed a deal with Talos Energy and Carbonvert for a proposed joint venture expansion to enhance a hub-scale CCS project, located offshore Jefferson County, Texas.