ASEAN Centre for Energy has supported two essential side events during the ASEAN Energy Business Forum (AEBF) 2023 on August 23 in Nusa Dua, Bali. Organized by the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) and hosted by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of Indonesia, the first event is centered on ‘Sustainable Energy Financing and Mobilization of Energy Investment’, and the second event is on ‘Advancing CCUS Implementation for Energy Security in ASEAN’.  ACCEPT’s manager, Beni Suryadi and Senior Research Analyst, Aldilla Noor Rakhiemah were invited to speak and moderate the afternoon session: Advancing CCUS Implementation for Energy Security in ASEAN. 

This afternoon discussion is divided into two main sessions. The first session with the theme “Development and Deployment of CCUS in ASEAN”, moderated by Dr. I Gusti Sidemen, ERIA Expert on CCUS. The first panelist, Mr. Alex Zapantis, General Manager Commercial at Global CCS Institute said that through the deployment of CCUS technology, the remaining emissions from fossil fuel burning, such as those from power production, oil and gas extraction, or industrial facilities that burn fossil fuels, can be captured, and delivered to storage. He highlighted two essential elements required for a successful implementation of CCUS which are viability to draw investors and private-public partnerships for transport and storage of CO2.  

Mr. Beni Suryadi, Manager of ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE), was invited as a panelist to inform the current energy state in ASEAN. According to the ASEAN Energy Outlook (AEO) 7, by 2050, the ASEAN regions will continue to rely on fossil and natural gas in all four scenarios of the Outlook. Thus, the clean use of fossil fuels and Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) will be extremely important to decarbonise emissions. Hence, under the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC) Phase II: 2021-2025, a specialised outcome-based strategy under Programme Area of Coal and Clean Coal Technology (CCT) is dedicated for promoting the role of clean coal technology and CCUS. 

From a technical perspective, Dr.Eng. Utomo Pratama Iskandar, Head of EOR and CCS/CCUS at LEMIGAS Indonesia, discussed several CCUS projects in Indonesia that were mostly employed in the oil and gas industry. There are seven active projects, including the Huff and Puff Projects by Petrochina and Pertamina at Gemah Field and Jatibarang Field, respectively which were already completed at the beginning of this year. According to Mr. Utomo, the market, funding, infrastructure, regulations, and policies all affect how affordable CCU is.   

Mrs. Kikuko Shinchi, Senior Researcher at Mitsubishi Research Institute also contributed to this session. She emphasized that carbon markets contribute not only to emission reduction but also hold immense potential in driving valuable dialogue and facilitating partnerships between different sectors. 

The next session with the theme “Barriers and Opportunities for CCUS”, was moderated by Ms. Aldilla Noor Rakhiemah, Senior Research Analyst of ACCEPT. Ms Aldilla opened the session by mentioning how CCUS continues its global momentum with dozens of projects moving into development. She also stated that in ASEAN CCUS could be fundamental in helping the region decarbonize energy systems from coal-based electricity generation and in achieving the net-zero target. 

The first panelist of the session was Dr. Han Phoumin, Senior Energy Economist at ERIA. He emphasized the urgent market entry of CCUS technology and its importance in garnering public financing and subsidies. He stated that in ASEAN’s fossil fuel-centric energy landscape, CCUS emerges as vital for emission reduction route to global carbon neutrality by 2050. He also highlighted the urgency of addressing technical barriers, regulatory frameworks, financing challenges, and business models to facilitate the effectiveness of CCUS implementation.    

The next panelist, Dr.Eng. Utomo Pratama Iskandar, Head of EOR and CCS/CCUS at LEMIGAS provided insights into the financing barriers of CCUS technology development and deployment. Insufficient incentive policies, limited capital access, high initial investments, technical complexities, rapid expansion, and low ROI rates are the common barriers of CCUS technology. However, private investments, public-private partnerships, government funds, incentives driven by carbon pricing policies, and R&D support are important keys to tackle the financing issue. According to Dr. Utomo, in terms of CO2 source, Indonesia for instance, is very abundant in average more than 10%, thus, it can be potential for the CCUs development and furthermore, giving a chance to create emission trading scheme. He stated that carbon price ranges between 91-122 USD per Tonnes of CO2, varies with different regions. 

On the academia side, Dr. Rachmat Sule from Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) provides a comprehensive insight into the the necessity for policy makers to grasp the value of CCUS, the availability of human resources, and the public acceptance for CCUS.   He informed that the government has established the National Center of Excellence in 2017 and ITB has a significant role for the development of CCUS and CCS technology.  The center’s has various initiatives including knowledge dissemination, capacity building, diversified study across industries, and collaborating with the government for CCUS-related regulations.  

Also joining in the forum, Ms. Dewi Mersitarini, Lead CCUS Research at PT Pertamina (Persero), has unveiled Pertamina’s determined path towards achieving Net-Zero Emissions (NZE) by 2060. The roadmap’s strategic span across Indonesia underscores Pertamina’s commitment, with the mature Jatibarang project’s successful injections as a hallmark.  Supported by international agency and government funding, Pertamina advances affordability in CCUS solutions, and its dedication to decarbonizing its operations signifies the industry’s diverse strategies. She stated that collaboration with private sectors and universities has been an effective way for capacity building and developing innovative technology, crucial for navigating CCUS complexities. 

Taking conclusion of the forum, CCUS is not an option, it is crucial for ASEAN to limit 1.5C degrees of global warming and to achieve the Net Zero Emissions (NZE) target. However, there are lot of challenges in the development of CCUS such as policy tools and financing. Collaborative infrastructure sharing, inter-institutional partnerships, innovative business models, and government incentives emerged as crucial pathways. 

Detailed information on ACCEPT II can be found at https://accept.aseanenergy.org/ 

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