Singapore, Indonesia to collaborate on CCS

: Emissions
24/02/16

Singapore and Indonesia have signed a letter of intent (LOI) to co-operate on cross-border carbon capture and storage (CCS), the countries announced on 15 February.

This comes after Indonesia issued a presidential regulation on CCS in January that would allow CCS operators to set aside 30pc of their storage capacity for CO2 from international sources. A working group comprising government officials from both countries will collaborate on creating a legally binding bilateral agreement that will enable the cross-border transport and storage of CO2 between Singapore and Indonesia.

Singapore is the first country to sign an agreement with Indonesia following the issuance of the CCS regulation.

Indonesia has an estimated CO2 storage potential of up to 600bn t in depleted oil and gas reservoirs or aquifers. There are around 40 commercial capture facilities in operation globally, with a total capacity of more than 45mn t/yr of CO2, according to the Paris-based IEA. Global carbon capture utilisation and storage facilities will have to increase their capacity to around 1bn t/yr by 2030, and 6bn t/yr by 2050, in order to meet net zero emissions by 2050 targets, Singapore and Indonesia said, citing the IEA's World Energy Outlook 2023.

Singapore has a net zero by 2050 goal and aims to achieve 2mn t/yr of carbon capture by 2030, and 6mn t/yr by 2050. Indonesia targets net zero by 2060, and in 2022 submitted a nationally determined contribution with an unconditional target to reduce emissions by 29-32pc below the business-as-usual scenario from 2020 levels, by 2030

"Cross-border collaboration is important to contributing to collective regional decarbonisation outcomes," the countries said.

"With this LOI, Singapore and Indonesia can become the pathfinders to catalyse deployment of cross-border CCS projects in southeast Asia," deputy secretary of Singapore's ministry of industry and trade, Keith Tan, said.

Southeast Asian national oil companies such as Indonesia's Pertamina, Malaysia's Petronas and Thailand's PTTEP remain firmly focused on growing fossil fuel production, but are increasingly recognising the potential for CCS to allow them to offset their emissions. These firms are already working on developing CCS, such as Petronas' projects at the Kasawari gas field offshore Malaysia, and there have been an increasing number of cross-border CCS agreements between companies. PTTEP is trying to carry out CCS "in-house" at its producing fields, as well as working with Petronas in locations where the firms have production-sharing contracts.

By Prethika Nair

Related news posts

Argus illuminates the markets by putting a lens on the areas that matter most to you. The market news and commentary we publish reveals vital insights that enable you to make stronger, well-informed decisions. Explore a selection of news stories related to this one.

24/12/18

US funding bill to allow year-round E15 sales

Washington, 17 December (Argus) — A stopgap government funding measure that leaders in the US House of Representatives unveiled late Tuesday would authorize year-round nationwide sales of 15pc ethanol gasoline (E15) and offer short-term biofuel blending relief to some small refiners. The 1,547-page bill, which is set for a vote in the coming days, is needed to avoid a government shutdown that would otherwise begin on Saturday. The bill would fund the government through 14 March and extend key expiring programs, such as agricultural support from the farm bill. It would also provide billions of dollars in disaster relief and pay the full cost of rebuilding the Francis Scott Key bridge in Maryland, which collapsed earlier this year after being hit by a containership. The inclusion of the E15 language, based on a bill by US senator Deb Fischer (R-Nebraska), marks a major win for ethanol producers and farm state lawmakers who have spent years lobbying to permanently allow year-round E15 sales. The bill would also provide short-term relief to some small refiners under the Renewable Fuel Standard that retired renewable identification numbers (RINs) in 2016-18 in cases when their requests for "hardship" waivers remained pending for years. The bill would return some of those RINs to the small refiners and make them eligible for compliance in future years. E15 was historically unavailable year-round because of language in the Clean Air Act that imposes more stringent fuel volatility requirements during summer months. In president-elect Donald Trump's first term, regulators began to allow year-round E15 sales by extending a waiver available for 10pc ethanol gasoline (E10), but a federal court in 2021 struck that down . Federal regulators have issued emergency waivers retaining year-round E15 sales over the last three summers. Enacting the stopgap funding bill would also make it unnecessary for eight states to follow through with a costly gasoline blendstock reformulation — set to begin as early as next summer — they had requested as a way to retain year-round E15 sales in the midcontinent . Oil industry groups last month petitioned EPA to delay the fuel reformulation until after the 2025 summer driving season, citing concerns about inadequate fuel supply and the prospects that a legislative fix would make required infrastructure changes unnecessary. Ethanol groups say the E15 legislative change could pave the way for retailers to more widely offer the high-ethanol fuel blend, which is currently available at 3,400 retail stations and last summer was about 10-30¢/USG cheaper than 10pc ethanol gasoline (E10). Offering the fuel year-round would be "an early Christmas present to American drivers," ethanol industry group Growth Energy chief executive Emily Skor said. House speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) has faced blowback from many Republicans in his caucus for negotiating such a sprawling bill that has tens of billions of dollars in new spending, after vowing to buck a practice of preparing a "Christmas tree bill" that forces lawmakers to vote on a must-pass bill right before the holidays. Johnson said today the bill remains a "small" funding bill, but that it needed to expand because of "things that were out of our control" such as hurricanes and economic aid for farmers. The Republican backlash could make it more difficult for Johnson to pass the bill, but Democrats are expected to provide broad support. By Payne Williams and Chris Knight Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

UK government weighs ETS, Corsia interaction

24/12/16

UK government weighs ETS, Corsia interaction

London, 16 December (Argus) — The UK government has launched a consultation on how to balance coverage of aviation emissions between its emissions trading scheme (ETS) and the UN's Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (Corsia). One option being considered by the government is to apply solely the UK ETS to flights leaving the UK to the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland. Corsia would apply to all other international flights from the UK. This would entail no changes to the UK ETS as it is currently structured, and would be "administratively simple to deliver and comply with", the government said. But it would mean not fully implementing Corsia as intended. And as Corsia administration obligations lie with an operator's state, any exemptions to the scheme set by the UK government would only apply to those operators attributed to the UK. The other option under consideration is to apply both the UK ETS and Corsia to these flights, and then compensate operators for the cost of their Corsia compliance, to avoid double-charging for the same emissions. Airlines would be compensated retrospectively following the three-yearly Corsia compliance deadline. This compensation could be financial, or in the form of either UK ETS allowances or reduced UK ETS obligations. The latter would require consideration of UK ETS supply adjustments to account for lower demand from the aviation sector, the government said. Applying both schemes would keep the covered flights fully compliant with Corsia, but could impact supply and prices in the UK ETS depending on how compensation is delivered, the government said. And the need to determine the costs incurred by operators under Corsia could also increase administrative burdens. The consultation is open until 10 February 2025. By Victoria Hatherick Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Canada sets 2035 emissions reduction goal

24/12/13

Canada sets 2035 emissions reduction goal

London, 13 December (Argus) — Canada has set a new 2035 climate goal, aiming to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 45-50pc by 2035, from a 2005 baseline. This builds on its 2030 target of a 40-45pc emissions reduction, again from 2005 levels. Canada's emissions had been in 2015 projected to rise by 9pc by 2030, from 2005 levels, "but we are now successfully bending the curve", the Canadian environment and climate change ministry said. The newly-announced target is in line with a pledge Canada made at the UN Cop 29 climate summit last month. Countries that are party to the Paris climate accord must submit new national climate plans by 10 February 2025, to cover a timeframe up to 2035. Canada, the EU, Mexico, Norway and Switzerland committed at Cop 29 to set out new plans with "steep emissions cuts" that are consistent with the global 1.5°C temperature increase limit sought by the Paris Agreement. The plans are known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs). Canada's NDC is being considered by the cabinet, and the country plans to submit it by the deadline, Canadian climate change ambassador Catherine Stewart told Cop 29 delegates on 21 November. Tackling climate change is "both an environmental imperative and an economic opportunity", she added. The target was informed "by the best available science, Indigenous Knowledge, international climate change commitments, consultations with provinces and territories and expert advice", the ministry said. Canada will also "seek feedback on how to help companies take advantage of the economic opportunities that come with building a clean economy" in the near term, it added. Although the plan is not yet available, the ministry said that it will examine the role of carbon removal technologies for the energy transition. "Canadians are increasingly experiencing record-breaking extreme weather," the ministry noted. The country experienced record wildfires in 2023. Carbon emissions from wildfires this year were second only to the "unprecedented" levels in 2023, EU earth-monitoring service Copernicus found this month. Canada has a legally binding target of net zero emissions by 2050. By Georgia Gratton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

EPA defends 'good neighbor' efficacy

24/12/11

EPA defends 'good neighbor' efficacy

Houston, 11 December (Argus) — The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) responded to concerns raised by the US Supreme Court in June by defending the efficacy of the "good neighbor" plan in reducing NOx emissions regardless of the number of participating states. The high court's concerns were over the issue of severability — that is, how effective the good neighbor plan would be in lowering ozone season NOx emissions if only some of the original 23 states participated. In other words, it is the question of whether the emissions limits placed on states as part of the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) cap-and-trade program under the plan would have changed based on the number of participating states. In a notice published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, EPA rejected the idea that the effectiveness of the good neighbor plan — and as a result, the NOx emissions limits imposed on each state — would wane if the number of participating states changed. Instead, the agency said that its plan is "by design severable by state" because the NOx emissions limits are imposed on individual sources rather than the states themselves. Each participating state's emissions obligations depend on the number of obligated power plants, their emissions and the types of emissions reduction measures they already have in place. As a result, pausing the imposition of tighter NOx limits under the good neighbor plan in certain states does not affect the NOx limits imposed in other participating states, EPA said. In a similar vein, EPA addressed concerns that the larger version of the CSAPR Group 3 seasonal NOx allowance trading program established under the good neighbor plan would become more illiquid if it covered fewer states than planned, which could lead to a smaller supply of allowances and higher prices. Calling those concerns "unjustified", the agency said that states can withdraw their sources from a trading program by submitting their own ozone reduction plans. EPA also cited previous instances from past cross-state ozone programs where the number of participating states has changed, noting that there has been no evidence of allowance shortages. EPA also responded to concerns that it used an inconsistent methodology to determine emissions obligations for each source — including the emissions reduction strategies that could be used and their associated costs. The agency said it used a methodology that was "nearly identical to prior good neighbor rules" and considered NOx reduction technologies that have been in place "for decades throughout the US." The severability issue was raised by the Supreme Court in June, when it paused implementation of the good neighbor plan nationwide. The court majority said that EPA did not provide a sufficient explanation in response to public comments from states that highlighted those concerns — especially because, until the court issued its stay, only 10 states were participating in the good neighbor plan because of lower court stays. But in September, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit allowed EPA to respond to the issue of severability, while it paused related litigation. EPA finalized the "good neighbor" plan last year to help downwind states meet the 2015 federal ozone standards. It imposed more rigorous CSAPR ozone season NOx emissions limits on more than 20 states and called for new NOx limits for industrial sources. Illiquidity has been persistent in the CSAPR market, depressing activity and keeping prices steady for almost a year because of uncertainty surrounding the numerous legal challenges against the plan. The ozone season runs from May-September each year. With plan halted for the time being, EPA has returned to less-stringent seasonal NOx budgets and reshuffled the remaining participating states into the Group 2 and new "expanded" Group 2 markets, leaving the Group 3 market empty. By Ida Balakrishna Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Cop 29 grids, storage pledge signatories released

24/12/11

Cop 29 grids, storage pledge signatories released

London, 11 December (Argus) — The final list of signatories for pledges on expanding energy storage and grid capacity taken at the UN Cop 29 climate summit, was released today, almost four weeks after the commitment was first finalised, with 58 countries out of almost 200 Cop parties taking part. Signatories commit to a collective goal of increasing electricity storage capacity to 1500GW by 2030, a sixfold increase from 2022. Another pledge is to add or refurbish 25mn km of grid infrastructure by 2030, and recognise the need for an additional 65mn km by 2040. Lack of firm, clean power generators to back up intermittent renewables is a major barrier to increasing renewable penetration, while distributed resources require large investments in power grids to transport electricity to consumers. The list of 58 signatory countries includes the so-called troika of Cop host countries the UAE, Azerbaijan and Brazil. The US and all other G7 member states are present, with the exception of France. Also absent among major economies are China and Russia, while Saudi Arabia spoke in support of the pledges during Cop but does not appear on the list of signatories. In comparison, almost 120 countries had signed a pledge to triple global renewable capacity double global energy efficiency by 2030 during the Cop 28 summit in Dubai last year. The grids and storage pledges were one of the centrepiece announcements made by the Azeri host, following on from the calls made in Dubai on renewable capacity and energy efficiency, but also on transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems. But divergences on mitigation — actions to cut greenhouse gas emissions — during the summit this year, meant that the completed pledge, as well as any other specific mentions of fuels and energy transition technologies, were not included in final outcome texts. By Rhys Talbot Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Business intelligence reports

Get concise, trustworthy and unbiased analysis of the latest trends and developments in oil and energy markets. These reports are specially created for decision makers who don’t have time to track markets day-by-day, minute-by-minute.

Learn more