NYK invests in Pertamina’s shipping subsidiary

Japanese shipping major NYK has reached a basic agreement to invest in PT Pertamina International Shipping (PIS), a shipping subsidiary of Indonesia’s state-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina (Persero).

The duo plans to conclude an investment agreement and complete the investment by the end of 2022. Details on the amount of investment were not disclosed.

NYK said that the deal builds upon a strong collaboration with PIS in ship management in the field of energy transportation.

“NYK was selected as a partner for investment in PIS because of the strong evaluation of NYK’s contribution to energy transportation in Indonesia over the years, with liquefied natural gas (LNG) transportation at the forefront,” the Japanese shipowner added.

The strategic partnership agreement will pave the way for cooperation in various fields including those associated with crude oil, petroleum products, LNG transportation, floating storage, and regasification units (FSRUs). In addition, NYK and PIS intend to collaborate on carbon capture and storage (CCS), for which demand is expected to grow in the future to realize a carbon-neutral society.

Pertamina is already exploring the potential for large-scale deployment of low-carbon technologies in Indonesia. The oil and gas major teamed up with ExxonMobil last year to identify and evaluate potential subsurface CO₂ storage locations and examine the feasibility of transporting CO₂ in Southeast Asia.

In addition, U.S.-based Chevron is looking into lower carbon business opportunities in Indonesia with Pertamina, including CCUS and hydrogen.

The partnership between Chevron and Pertamina is part of efforts to support the government of Indonesia’s net-zero emission target in 2060. Moreover, Pertamina committed to increasing its renewable energy mix from 9.2 per cent in 2019 to 17.7 per cent in 2030.

The Indonesian oil and gas major is also working with Japanese counterparts Osaka Gas, JGC Holdings, and Inpex on the feasibility of an LNG project in Indonesia involving the production of biomethane.

The project is to support the Asia Energy Transition Initiative (AETI), a plan that Japan unveiled in 2021 that aims to help achieve carbon neutrality in Asia through the energy transition.

The project is intended to contain Palm oil mill effluent (POME)-derived GHG emissions by sequestering methane and converting it to biofuels.

The aim of the project is to supply bio-methane through the existing gas grid, meet natural gas demand and contribute to the reduction of emissions. Finally, the joint study will also involve identifying bio-methane/bio-LNG and bunker fuel marketing opportunities, including bio-LNG export to Japan and/or other countries.