Singapore and Indonesia to collaborate on cross-border carbon capture, storage

Singapore and Indonesia have signed a letter of intent to collaborate on cross-border carbon capture and storage (CCS), with work underway for a legally binding agreement to enable transport and storage of carbon dioxide between both countries, according to a joint statement released late Feb. 15.

This comes after Indonesia issued a presidential regulation Jan. 30 to allow CCS operators to set aside 30% of their storage capacity for imported carbon dioxide.

"Singapore is the first country to sign an LOI with Indonesia after its presidential regulation to allow cross-border CCS was announced. With this LOI, Singapore and Indonesia can become the pathfinders to catalyze deployment of cross-border CCS projects in Southeast Asia," said Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry Deputy Secretary Keith Tan.

Indonesia -- with an estimated carbon storage potential of up to 600 GT -- aims to develop CCS technologies and establish itself as a key CCS player as it strives towards achieving net zero by 2060.

"The initiative positions Indonesia as a key player in the Southeast Asian CCS landscape, offering a model for cross-border environmental cooperation," said Indonesia's Deputy Coordinating Minister for Maritime Sovereignty and Energy Jodi Mahardi.

Singapore aims to achieve net zero by 2050 through low-carbon technological pathways like hydrogen and CCS, with plans to capture 2 million mt/year of carbon dioxide by 2030, and 6 million mt/year by 2050.

There are currently no cross-border CCS projects in Asia, although countries like South Korea and Japan have announced plans to implement such projects.

Outside of Asia, Belgium and Denmark had signed an agreement in 2022 to trial cross-border shipping of captured carbon dioxide and to permanently store them in a sandstone reservoir.