Indonesia says Exxon Mobil plans to invest up to $15 bln in the country - Reuters

Indonesia says Exxon Mobil plans to invest up to $15 bln in the country | Reuters

Indonesia says Exxon Mobil plans to invest up to $15 bln in the country

ExxonMobil logo is seen in this illustration taken, October 6, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights

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JAKARTA, Nov 16 (Reuters) - U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) is planning to invest up to $15 billion in a petrochemical project and carbon capture and storage (CCS) facilities in Indonesia, President Joko Widodo said in a presidential palace statement on Thursday.

The planned CCS facilities would be the biggest in Southeast Asia. Jokowi, as the Indonesian president is commonly known, met with Exxon Chairman Darren Woods during a trip to San Francisco for an Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

Earlier this week, Indonesia signed an initial deal with an Exxon unit to explore investment in a petrochemical project in Indonesia to produce polymers.

Exxon and Indonesian state energy company Pertamina also agreed to evaluate $2 billion in investments in CCS facilities using two underground basins in the Java Sea.

The CCS hub with Exxon would have the potential to store at least 3 gigatons of carbon dioxide emitted by industries in Indonesia and the rest of the region.

The agreements were signed during Jokowi's visit to Washington to meet with U.S. President Joe Biden, ahead of the APEC summit in San Francisco this week.

Reporting by Fransiska Nangoy and Bernadette Christina; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Tom Hogue

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