CO2 underground storage and potential of CDM

Carbon dioxide (CO2) underground storage technologies are being used as a means to mitigate the increase in CO2 concentration in the atmosphere. Indonesia is an oil producing and exporting country. Its reserve-production ratio which is estimated based on the current production volume is approximately 19 years. Energy demand in the future is expected to be on the rise in Indonesia. In addition, in light of the interest in enhanced oil recovery (EOR), CO2 underground storage is also being explored. Activities to initiate the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which is one of the Kyoto Mechanisms, have also been actively promoted in developing countries. This paper examined an EOR operation which used CO2 separated and recovered from waste gas at coal-fired power plants which have the highest CO2 emission rates among human-induced CO2 emission sources in Indonesia. The paper discussed EOR, its characteristics and features as well as case studies with specific sites in order to clarify issues and conditions for promoting CO2 underground storage technologies into CDM. It was concluded that it is necessary to conduct additional studies on the profitability of the operation while conducting verification at the CO2 separation and recovery site and the CO2 storage site and consulting with relevant stakeholders of EOR operation. In addition, it was suggested that procedures should be put in place to promote the EOR operation into a CDM project by coordinating with the host country and offering it incentives. 3 refs., 1 tab., 2 figs