A massive $20 billion deal with the US and Japan will kick-start Indonesia’s drive to wean itself off coal power, though the country may still need trillions more to reach net-zero emissions while meeting growing demand for energy.
US President Joe Biden and Indonesian President Joko Widodo announced a climate finance deal providing $20 billion to help Indonesia pivot away from coal power.
Indonesia has an ambitious target to almost double natural gas production from 6.5 billion cubic feet per day (cf/d) to 12 billion cf/d by 2030. Hitting that goal means giant undeveloped gas projects, such as Inpex’s Masela and Chevron’s IDD, must proceed rapidly.
Unlike most governments in the economically developed Western world, Indonesia’s leaders are crying out for more upstream oil and gas investment. However, even as demand is projected to rise up to four times by 2050, Southeast Asia’s biggest economy is struggling to convince energy investors to come.
US giant ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) has met with Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo to talk about the importance of a lower carbon future and ways that Indonesia can continue to access reliable and cost effective sources of energy.
Jakarta is preparing to bolster its maritime security defences in the Natuna Sea, which is rich in fisheries and natural gas, after increasing incursions by Chinese vessels within Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The news should provide some comfort to upstream oil and gas investors operating in the Natuna Sea.
Shell has failed to generate any significant interest in the sales process for its share of the giant Abadi LNG project one year after the Indonesian government announced the Anglo-Dutch supermajor’s intention to divest.