CCUS Project Development in Indonesia – Capture, CO₂ Transport, Storage & MRV

Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS), known in Indonesian as penangkapan, pemanfaatan, dan penyimpanan karbon, is a chain of technologies that captures carbon dioxide (CO₂) from industrial and energy sources, transports it, and then either uses it or stores it permanently in deep geological formations. Indonesia now has a dedicated legal framework, a large geological storage resource and a growing list of announced projects, which makes CCUS one of the most important project-development topics in the country’s energy sector.

This guide explains CCUS project development in Indonesia step by step. First, it covers regulation. Then it walks through capture, CO₂ transport, storage and MRV (measurement, reporting and verification).

What is CCUS and why does it matter for Indonesia?

CCUS captures CO₂ before it reaches the atmosphere. Operators then compress the captured CO₂, move it by pipeline, ship or truck, and inject it into a suitable rock formation deep underground, where they monitor it over time. However, where operators use CO₂ rather than store it, for example as an industrial input, the term CCU applies. For the wider regional picture, see our overview of carbon capture and storage in Asia.

For Indonesia, CCUS fits three national priorities at once. First, it supports the country’s Net Zero Emissions target for 2060. Second, it gives existing oil, gas, power and industrial assets a route to lower emissions. Third, it uses geological knowledge and engineering skills that the Indonesian upstream industry has built over many decades. In practice, sources of CO₂ for capture include gas processing, LNG, fertiliser and petrochemical plants, power generation and cement production.

How is CCS regulated in Indonesia?

Indonesia’s CCS rules build up in layers. The table below summarises the main instruments.

Two routes to a storage project

Perpres 14/2024 provides two routes, and the right one depends on whether the developer already holds a working area.

Transport licences and cross-border CO₂

Carbon transport requires its own licence. The Government can license pipelines, including subsea pipelines, for up to 20 years, and other modes such as ships and trucks for up to 10 years, in both cases with extensions available. Moreover, Perpres 14/2024 allows cross-border storage: operators must reserve at least 70% of storage capacity for domestic CO₂, and they may designate up to 30% for CO₂ from overseas producers that invest in or are affiliated with investments in Indonesia. Authorities are still developing the implementing details, so project teams should always check the latest official texts.

Stage 1: How is CO₂ captured?

Capture separates CO₂ from other gases at the source, using post-combustion, pre-combustion, oxy-fuel or process-stream methods. In Indonesia, announced projects centre on upstream gas and LNG facilities such as Tangguh, where CO₂ handling is already part of normal operations. Beyond these, other candidate sources include fertiliser and petrochemical plants, power generation and cement production.

Therefore, the quality of the captured CO₂ stream, especially its water content and impurities, matters for the next two stages. For a technology-by-technology comparison of capture methods, see our guide to carbon capture and storage in Malaysia.

Stage 2: How is CO₂ transported?

Next, operators dry and compress the captured CO₂ and move it to the storage site. Indonesia’s geography, with emitters and storage sites often on different islands or offshore, makes multi-modal transport an important design question: pipelines (including subsea), ships and, for small volumes, trucks. Because the Government licenses transport separately from storage, teams need to consider route planning and licensing together. The CO₂ Transport Networks for CCUS course looks at pipelines, shipping and storage as one transport network.

Flow assurance is central to transport design. In particular, engineers must manage phase behaviour, pressure and temperature changes, water content (which can cause corrosion if the CO₂ is not sufficiently dry), and the effect of impurities on the safe operating envelope. For pipeline operators, CO₂ Pipeline Integrity Management is a natural next topic.

Stage 3: Where and how is CO₂ stored?

Operators inject CO₂ into porous rock formations, usually at depths of around 800 metres or more, where it stays in a dense state. A good storage site has three things: enough pore space (capacity), the ability to accept CO₂ at the planned rate (injectivity), and a sealing layer above it (containment). Indonesia is considering two main storage types:

• Depleted oil and gas reservoirs: well-understood geology and existing data, with published estimates of roughly 10 Gt of CO₂ capacity.
• Deep saline aquifers: much larger potential, with 2024 estimates reaching hundreds of gigatonnes, but needing more site characterisation.

Over time, several mechanisms hold the injected CO₂ in place: structural trapping beneath the seal, residual trapping in the pore spaces, dissolution in formation water, and mineral trapping.

Indonesian project examples

Indonesian authorities have announced a portfolio of around 15 CCUS projects. For example, one of the best-known is the Tangguh Ubadari, CCUS, Compression (UCC) project in Papua Barat. The project partners announced the final investment decision in November 2024, the Government of Indonesia has designated the project a national strategic project, and the partners expect the initial phase to store about 15 million tonnes of CO₂ from Tangguh’s emissions. Meanwhile, developers are also evaluating areas such as the Sunda–Asri Basin offshore West Java as potential regional storage hubs. For a regional view, see our overview of CCS hubs in Asia.

The international standard: ISO 27914:2026

ISO 27914:2026 is the second edition of the international standard for geological storage of CO₂, published in March 2026 and replacing the 2017 edition. It sets requirements for onshore and offshore storage and covers site screening and feasibility, site characterisation, design and development, operation and preparation for project termination. It also includes integrated risk management and a method for quantifying the net mass of CO₂ stored. As a result, project teams in Indonesia can use it as a common technical reference when working with partners, financiers and regulators. In addition, Geological Carbon Storage: Picking the Right Reservoir covers storage site screening and selection.

Stage 4: What is MRV and why does it matter?

MRV stands for measurement (or monitoring), reporting and verification. It is how a project shows, with evidence, that the CO₂ it injects stays where it is meant to stay and that the quantities reported are correct. Teams plan MRV from the start of a project, so they do not have to add it at the end.

Strong MRV also protects the project itself. In particular, good baseline data and clear monitoring plans make it easier to demonstrate safe performance throughout the injection period and in the preparation for closure. Frameworks for national carbon accounting continue to develop, so teams should design MRV plans to be flexible and well documented. The CCUS Well Design & Monitoring course looks at injection wells and monitoring design in detail.

What skills do Indonesian CCUS projects need?

Each stage draws on a different mix of engineering disciplines, so projects work best when these teams share a common vocabulary:

• Subsurface and storage: geology, reservoir engineering, CO₂ storage capacity and containment assessment.
• Wells: injection well design, integrity management and abandonment planning.
• Transport and flow assurance: CO₂ pipeline and shipping design, phase behaviour, corrosion control.
• Monitoring and MRV: monitoring design, data management, reporting and verification.
• Standards and regulation: ISO 27914, Indonesian CCS regulation, HSE and risk management.

EnergyEdge training programmes cover CO₂ storage, CO₂ transport, flow assurance, monitoring and ISO 27914, helping engineers and managers build these skills for project work in Indonesia and the wider region. For example, teams new to the topic can start with Introduction to Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) for Non-Technical Professionals, and project managers may find CCS project risks and how to manage them useful.

Upcoming training on this topic

Scheduled courses on the EnergyEdge calendar that relate to the topics in this guide, including a session in Jakarta and virtual options. See also more CCS and CCUS courses.

Course	Dates	Format / location
Carbon Capture, Utilization & Storage (CCUS)	19 – 23 Oct 2026	Virtual (VILT)
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS): Project Risks & How to Manage Them	16 – 20 Nov 2026	Virtual (VILT)
CO₂ Transport Networks for CCUS	23 – 25 Nov 2026	Kuala Lumpur
Carbon Capture, Utilization & Storage (CCUS) Well Design & Monitoring	30 Nov – 2 Dec 2026	Jakarta
Applied Carbon Capture & Storage Geomechanics	30 Nov – 4 Dec 2026	Kuala Lumpur
Introduction to Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) for Non-Technical Professionals	7 – 9 Dec 2026	Kuala Lumpur
Geological Carbon Storage: Picking the Right Reservoir	26 – 30 Apr 2027	Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and other locations

Dates as listed on the EnergyEdge Training Calendar 2026 on 12 October 2026. Please check the calendar for the latest availability.