Norway plans to strengthen its partnership with Indonesia and explore investment opportunities in renewable energy, specifically in hydropower and carbon capture and storage (CCS), according to Energy Minister Terje Aasland. Following a meeting with his Indonesian counterpart Arifin Tasrif in Jakarta, Aasland told Reuters on Thursday, “There are many opportunities and some hurdles, but I hope we can build a stronger partnership in the years to come.”
Aasland highlighted that Norwegian companies could leverage their expertise in hydropower and CCS to help Indonesia reduce its carbon emissions. He noted that Norway’s first CCS project, Northern Lights, is set to start capturing carbon dioxide from a cement plant in Brevik by next May, with storage capacity becoming available this year.
On Thursday, Aasland also met with representatives from Norwegian firms in Singapore, including Equinor, DNB, and Yara, who are investing in renewables, energy storage, and alternative fuels such as ammonia in the Asia Pacific region.
While Norway aims to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, it continues to explore and develop new oil and gas fields, including in the Arctic’s Barents Sea, to sustain an output expected to peak in 2025. As western Europe’s largest oil and gas producer, Norway produces just over 4 million barrels of oil equivalents per day (boe/d). Norwegian gas supplies to Europe are anticipated to reach 120 billion cubic meters (bcm) this year, up from 109 bcm in 2023.
“Oil and gas will also play a crucial role in the coming decades due to the need for energy security and affordable prices,” Aasland said. He emphasized the importance of securing supply chains for the green transition.
Next year, Norway plans to issue exploration permits for seabed mining in the Arctic to extract minerals essential for solar panels, wind turbines, and electric car batteries. This initiative aims to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, despite facing opposition from environmental groups and some European countries. “Currently, we depend on Russia and China for minerals, so we need to diversify the value chain in the coming years. We are exploring sustainable development activities in the Norwegian Continental Shelf,” Aasland added.