Pertamina has set up a partnership with the Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) to develop Rig-to-CCS (carbon capture storage) technology. Rig-to-CCS involves repurposing decommissioned offshore oil platforms into carbon capture and storage facilities.

The collaboration was formalized through the signing of a Joint Study Agreement by Pertamina's CEO, Nicke Widyawati, and KNOC's President & CEO, Dong Sub Kim, in Seoul, South Korea, on Wednesday.

Nicke said that the development of Rig-to-CCS is a manifestation of Pertamina's commitment to reducing emissions and supporting the government's target to achieve Net Zero Emission (NZE) by 2060 or earlier.

"In addition to enriching CCS studies, this collaboration also helps address Indonesia's challenges in the Abandonment and Site Restoration (ASR) of offshore oil platforms," said Nicke.

Nicke explained that ASR poses a challenge due to the large number of offshore oil platforms that are no longer in use after decades of operation and the cessation of oil production.

"The costs of conventional ASR or decommissioning are very high, so an alternative ASR solution is needed, especially reutilization, to implement the ASR of offshore platforms gradually and efficiently," added Nicke.

Oki Muraza, Senior Vice President for Research and Technology Innovation at Pertamina, mentioned that the collaboration with KNOC could also be expanded to the development of technology in other low-carbon businesses.

"The collaboration could be expanded to the development of Rig-to-Wind Farm, Rig-to-Fish-Farm (offshore fish farming), and Rig-to-LNG-Terminal, to bring natural gas to locations that currently lack energy facilities," said Oki.

Fadjar Djoko Santoso, Vice President for Corporate Communication at PT Pertamina, said that Indonesia has significant CO2 storage capacity, positioning the country at the forefront of the green industry era.

"Indonesia is a pioneer in ASEAN in implementing CCS regulations and is ranked first in Asia according to the Global CCS Institute. The development of CCS requires significant investment, hence global collaboration is needed," said Fadjar.