[Discussion Report] PYC International Energy Conference 2017 – Workshop Session

The fourth room of International Energy Conference (IEC) parallel session is a workshop session. The speakers were Dr. Ir. Donny Yusgiantoro, MM., MPA, Mr. Jaya Wahono (Clean Power Indonesia), Dr. Adhi Wibowo (National Energy Council (DEN)), and Mr. Noezran Aswar (Special Task Force for Upstream Oil and Gas Business Activities Republic of Indonesia (SKK Migas)).

Mr. Donny Yusgiantoro, as the first speaker, delivered the concept of energy security, with Indonesia as a case study. He also addressed current issues of global energy security, perspective, and self-knowledge. The major issues in the world currently are on food, energy and water issues, as these are one source of bilateral and global conflict, and demand for food, energy, and water continues to rise and exceed the supply. This trend is driven by the rate of population and industry growth. The way of a nation in seeing itself and the ideals to be achieved is the geopolitics namely “Archipelagic Insight,” and the way to accomplish this is the geostrategy namely “National Security.” Energy security is a part of national resilience, so in this context, the resilience of Indonesia’s energy is how to build and develop an energy system capable of protecting people from various disasters, whether it has been predicted or not. Energy security is a part of national resilience because if there is a problem of resilience in energy, it will have a negative impact on economic resilience, social resilience, ideological endurance, and others. The challenge faced in realizing energy security is the increasing demand for energy while the existing infrastructure is insufficient.

The second speaker, Mr. Jaya Wahono, discussed the development of renewable energy in Mentawai based on its community. The primary challenge in building a renewable energy perspective to a new generation is not only a technical issue but also a social and environmental problem. Rural renewable energy users are the community; thus the best approach is to invite them to work together to ensure a well-planned development to work properly. Currently, there is about 50 million people have no electricity. Furthermore, based on data from the Ministry of Villages, Underdeveloped Regions and Transmigration, there are about 50 thousand poor villages have no access to electricity. Therefore, this is a challenge that must be resolved. He also mentioned that in Mentawai, there is a community-based renewable energy development pilot project with a type of energy developed in the form of bamboo biomass for electricity. The bonus of this program is the bamboo waste that has been processed into pellets and further can be used as a stove fuel, which is clean energy. The community is expected to be self-sufficient in energy and can produce income from such raw material producers. It is expected that this pilot project will be an economic driver in that particular region.

Mr. Adhi Wibowo as the third speaker delivered the national energy plan set by the government. The national energy policy set by the government is valid until 2050. This policy is composed of key policies and supporting policies developed to realize the goals of energy independence and national energy security to support sustainable development. Energy independence is achieved not only as an export commodity but also through energy management as capital for national development. The optimization of the utilization of domestic energy resources is aimed at national economic development, the creation of value added in the country, and the absorption of labor.

The last speaker, Mr. Noezran Aswar, delivered about the prospect of East Natuna field development which is the biggest gas field in Indonesia with a very high CO₂ level. The main problem with the field with a high level of CO₂ is that the field tends to unfulfilled the feasibility of an adequate economy. High levels of CO₂ resulted in high investment costs for gas production and environmental problems. One alternative in East Natuna field development is to utilize the CO₂ contained in the field for various purposes as used in EOR (Enhanced Oil Recovery) technology. CO₂ can be converted into methane which are fertilizer fuel and various petrochemical products. Methane and methanol prices follow demand, and in recent years showed a positive trend. CO₂ can also be used for pharmaceutical products, food, chemical extraction and refrigeration industries. Natuna Field is the largest gas field and CO₂ reservoir that has the potential to be monetized. If this is done, it will generate revenues from the profits of selling methane and methanol.