Indonesia’s Pertamina International Shipping (PIS) has set out a new strategy to expand into the global carbon transport market, underlining the country’s ambition to become a key player in Southeast Asia’s emerging carbon capture and storage (CCS) network.
The plan, unveiled at the 5th Asia CCUS Network Forum in Jakarta on 10 September 2025, highlights the growing role of cross-border CO2 transport in enabling regional decarbonisation. The move comes as several Asian economies, including Japan and South Korea, scale up investment in carbon storage and shipping infrastructure.
PIS currently owns and operates more than 106 vessels, including gas, crude and petrochemical carriers, with about 65 already serving international routes. Supported by offices in Singapore, Dubai and London, this fleet provides a platform for expansion into carbon shipping, including the development of LCO2 carriers designed to move captured emissions from industrial facilities to onshore terminals and onward to offshore storage sites.
Indonesia’s geological formations offer significant potential for permanent CO2 storage. The Sunda Asri Basin alone is estimated to hold up to 1.1 gigatonnes of CO2. PIS argues that the country’s location and subsurface resources position it to become a regional CCS node, linking industrial emitters across Asia with secure storage capacity.
Muthia Rizky Neldi, Vice President of Business Development at PIS, said: ‘PIS sees significant opportunities in the LCO2 value chain to serve as a strategic bridge connecting emitters with carbon storage facility providers. With its fleet and infrastructure capabilities, PIS is well-positioned to become a key player in the LCO2 transportation industry.’
To enhance operational efficiency and support its carbon transport ambitions, PIS is equipping its fleet with advanced digital systems under the PIS-SmartShip programme. By mid-2025, around half of the company’s vessels were equipped with SmartShip 2.0, enabling real-time monitoring of energy use and emissions.
The technology has already delivered monthly savings of 324 tonnes of fuel and 1,021 tonnes of CO2. ‘We are not only preparing reliable vessels, but also building digital systems that ensure energy efficiency and emission reduction across the supply chain,’ Neldi said.
The company’s strategy aligns closely with Indonesia’s national Net Zero Emission 2060 target and broader regional efforts to scale up CCS and carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) infrastructure. PIS’s focus on cross-border carbon logistics mirrors similar initiatives in Japan, South Korea and Australia, all seeking to establish trading routes for captured CO2.
PIS has also strengthened its international partnerships. In June 2024, the company signed a memorandum of understanding with Japanese shipping major NYK Line to collaborate on the transportation of liquefied CO2 and LNG, including the establishment of a joint ship management company. The agreement builds on a 2022 partnership aimed at exploring transboundary LCO2 shipping opportunities.
