ExxonMobil, a leading American oil company, has committed to investing up to USD 15 billion in carbon capture and storage (CCS) and a petrochemical refinery in Indonesia. The agreement was formalized through a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the company and the Indonesian government in Jakarta last month.
An Indonesian senior minister stated that ExxonMobil’s petrochemical investment would contribute to the country’s efforts to advance value-added processing. The planned facility will focus on plastic production, while the carbon capture and storage (CCS) project—designed to capture emissions from industrial processes and store them in deep geological formations—will support Indonesia’s sustainability initiatives. Additionally, the minister’s assistant disclosed that the initial investment is estimated at approximately USD 10 billion, reaching USD 15 billion upon completion of both projects.
The planned CCS facility is expected to store approximately 3 million tons of carbon dioxide, and according to a minister’s assistant, it will be Indonesia’s first large-scale CCS facility once operational. ExxonMobil has yet to finalize the locations for both projects but is considering the Sunda-Asri Basin in the Java Sea for the CCS site. Meanwhile, the company is still evaluating potential sites for the petrochemical refinery, though it is likely to be located on Java Island to ensure proximity—within 100 kilometers—of the CCS facility. The Indonesian government and ExxonMobil will establish a joint task force to facilitate smooth implementation.
Former Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo had previously suggested ExxonMobil’s investment plans. In 2023, he met with ExxonMobil’s chairman in San Francisco, where he disclosed that the company was exploring a USD 15 billion investment in a green petrochemical refinery and a CCS project in Indonesia. At the time, the former president also stated that the planned CCS facility would be the largest in Southeast Asia.
The Indonesian government reported that foreign direct investment (FDI) from the United States reached USD 2.8 billion between January and September 2024, making the U.S. the fourth-largest source of FDI in the country during that period.
(Source: Jakarta Globe)
