CARBON ACEH GETS GREEN LIGHT FOR ONE OF THE WORLD’S BIGGEST CARBON SEQUESTRATION PROJECTS
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Carbon Aceh Pte Ltd (“Carbon Aceh or the Company”) is pleased to announce that it has signed a Joint Venture Agreement (“JV”) with PT Pembangunan Aceh (“PEMA”), an enterprise owned by the Government of Aceh to create a Joint Venture company called PT PEMA Aceh Carbon (“PEMA Aceh”) to evaluate and re-develop the depleted Arun gas field in the Province of Aceh, Indonesia for carbon capture and storage (“CCS”) which will contribute to turning the province of Aceh in Indonesia into a regional CCS hub.
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Figure 1. Arun CCS project location, Aceh Province, Indonesia
The signing of the JV was carried out in Indonesia by the President Director of PEMA, Ali Mulyagusdin and Managing Director of Carbon Aceh, David Lim.
Figure 2. Signing ceremony to establish the JV company PT Pema Aceh Carbon with President Director of PEMA, Ali Mulyagusdin (centre right) and Managing Director of Carbon Aceh, David Lim (centre left)
PEMA Aceh will conduct a study of the development, implementation, and operation of the Arun CCS Project. In addition to a detailed study of the Arun reservoir, the study will evaluate the potential for reusing the existing wells, pipelines, and all facilities and equipment considered necessary for the operation of a CCS project. Upon completion of the study, PEMA Aceh will have the exclusive right to develop and operate a carbon storage facility that will be used to reduce carbon emissions and facilitate economic development across the whole region.
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The Arun CCS project is expected to be operational by 2029 and could be the first commercial CCS business in Asia offering open access storage of CO2. Preliminary studies by Carbon Aceh indicate that Arun has the potential to sequester in excess of 1000 million metric tonnes of CO2 or almost three times Australia’s annual CO2 emissions, making it one of the largest CCS projects in the world. Arun CCS is a project of national significance that could make a significant contribution towards Indonesia’s emissions reduction commitments as well as being the driver for economic growth and employment both directly, and through related commercial endeavours like the manufacture of blue hydrogen and ammonia.
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President Director of PEMA, Ali Mulyagusdin commented; “The signing of the Joint Venture Agreement was a follow-up to the MoU with PT Carbon Aceh Pte Ltd some time ago regarding the development and operation of the depleted reservoir carbon storage facility in the Arun Gas field. In addition, the signing is a form of support for the Paris Agreement (Paris Agreement) program on mitigating greenhouse gas reductions in 2060. This project is an option to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by using CCS technology and has the potential to generate significant revenue for Aceh.”
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Managing Director of Carbon Aceh Pte Ltd David Lim commented “We are delighted to collaborate with PEMA in unlocking the opportunities and potential of CCS in the rejuvenation of the Arun field and making it a commercial asset again. The CCS project in Arun (Arun CCS) represents a unique and new business opportunity for the people of Indonesia and is a major step in establishing Aceh as a leading CCS hub in the region and internationally.”
MIGAS Director-General Yth. Professor Tutuka Ariadji previously commented “Indonesia is very serious about developing CCS/CCUS technology. Currently, the regulations are being drafted and are expected to be completed in the near future. The scope of the regulation consists of technical aspects, business scenarios, legal aspects and economic aspects. This is a good opportunity,"
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For further details please contact
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Carbon Aceh Pte Ltd
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Email info@carbonaceh.com
About the Arun Field - The Arun Field is estimated[1] to have produced over 14 trillion cubic feet of raw gas and 840 million barrels of condensate. It is one of the top 200 gas fields in the world and is strategically located with access to a deepwater port, and an LNG plant with compression and regasification facilities. The gas from the Arun field was produced by natural depletion and the absence of water influx during production means the reservoir is now at low pressure creating ideal conditions to receive CO2. Arun has world-class reservoirs which have produced at rates of over 3000 million cubic feet a day for more than 10 years with the gas exported to the Arun LNG terminal. The last LNG cargo from Arun was shipped to Korea in 2014. Since then the field has been producing at about 40 million cubic feet a day and supplying a fertilizer plant.
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Preliminary studies by the Company indicate that Arun has the potential to sequester in excess of 1 billion tonnes of CO2 which would make it one of the world’s largest CCS projects. Arun CCS will enable the commercialisation of several nearby undeveloped gas fields with high CO2 content, the creation of a Blue Hydrogen/Ammonia project and potentially the installation of direct air capture facilities.
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[1] Suhendro Suhendro,”Review of 20 Years of Hydrocarbon Gas Cycling in the Arun Gas Field”, SPE186280
Figure 3. Arun Field, Aceh Province, Indonesia.