PGN Gets 3 Japanese Companies To Develop Biomethane Projects In South Sumatra

JAKARTA - PT Perusahaan Gas Negara Tbk menggaet JGC Holdings Corporation (JGC) Osaka Gas Co., Ltd, INPEX CORPORATION conducted a study on biomethenic commercialization originating from Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) in Indonesia.

This phase will involve technical assessments of supply chain, production and supply of biomethane, assuming biomethane production will begin in Southern Sumatra in 2025.

PGN's Director of Strategy and Business Development Harry Budi Sidharta said the consortium would later use PGN's natural gas pipeline network to distribute biomethane made from POME whose raw materials come from oil palm plantations in South Sumatra.

Where several oil palm plantations have signed a Memorandum of Understanding in the procurement of raw materials for POME.

Pada proyek ini, PGN akan menyediakan fasilitas pipeline injection dan pipa gas bumi yang telah memiliki akses yang baik dengan POME sebagai bahan bakunya. Biomethane yang diproduksi dari proyek ini, diharapkan tidak hanya untuk memenuhi kebutuhan gas industri dan demand pelanggan di Indonesia, tetapi juga sebagai bukti Pertamina Group dan partner dalam hal ini JGC, INPEX, dan Osaka Gas berkomitmen untuk terus mendorong pengembangan renewable energy," ujarnya dalam keterangan kepada media, Selasa, 26 September.

He added that Indonesia is the largest producer and exporter of palm oil in the world which contributes 4.5 percent of GDP and employs nearly 3 million people; palm oil production leaves POME waste rich in organic materials that produce large amounts of methane emissions.

"It is estimated that methane emissions have a greenhouse effect 25 times greater than CO2," added Harry.

This production process will later capture methane gas which is released into the atmosphere from POME, to then be refined into biomethane gas and channeled through natural gas pipelines and other existing infrastructure to customers in Indonesia.

Thus, the Biomethane project will provide benefits in the form of reducing methane gas emissions, reducing carbon emissions, and meeting natural gas needs in Indonesia.

In the future, the operation scale of this project is expected to expand throughout Sumatra and Kalimantan, because the parties in this project are considering providing bio-LNG liquid from biomethane as bunker fuel, bio-LNG exports to Japan and other countries, and other business potentials.

The project was also introduced at the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) Ministry Meeting in March 2023 as an initiative that contributed to carbon neutral in Asia.

JGC has accelerated its energy transition initiative, seeking to reduce emissions and decarbonization in line with its long-term management vision in May 2021 and medium-term business plans (Visi 2040 and BSP 2025).

To date, the JGC Group has built a wide track record in Indonesia through the construction of LNG plants and other businesses.

JGC will devote this experience to projects with experienced management capabilities through the project to lead this collaboration.

Osaka gas joins in developing technology and services to support decarbonization, strive to tackle climate change, and other social issues.

Osaka Gas also announced Carbon Neutral Vision (CNV) in January 2021 and Energy Transition 2030 in March 2023.

In collaboration with PGN and other parties in this project, Osaka Group will implement biogas purification technology to support biomethane production.

In addition, Osaka Group has experience in injecting biomethane pipes and has expertise in natural gas sales to promote biomethane in Indonesia and reduce CO2 emissions in both Indonesia and Japan.

In line with the long-term strategy and medium-term business plan (INPEX Vision 2022) in February 2022, INPEX is proactively involved in energy structure reform towards the realization of net zero emissions by 2050, while responding to energy demand in Japan and other countries around the world.

Together with the parties involved in this project, INPEX will encourage business development efforts that are responsive to climate change and provide clean LNG bunkering supplies in Indonesia.

Harry added that this project is in line with PGN carrying out its role in the energy transition in Indonesia towards the Net Zero Emission (NZE) target in 2060.

Natural gas as cleaner energy compared to other energies can reduce emissions by up to 40 percent and will be one of the energy solutions to achieve the target of reducing Indonesia's emissions by 377 million tons of CO2 by 2035.

"This project will be able to contribute to overcoming environmental challenges in line with the development of New and Renewable Energy (NRE) by using POME as an environmentally friendly energy source," concluded Harry.