Pertamina Hulu Rokan expounds on wetland innovations at COP28

INDUSTRY.co.id - PT Pertamina Hulu Rokan (PHR) present its innovation in constructing wetlands to manage water waste produced from its operational activities. The innovations implemented to support the achievement of Net Zero Emission (NZE) 2060 were presented at the 2023 UN Climate Change Summit or Conference of the Parties (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The nature-based solution (NBS) is carried out to manage water waste that produced by the oil exploration and production process.
The water waste management uses constructed wetlands based on hydroelectric technology. Artificial wetlands are formed using a hydraulic loading rate technique, it can operate using gravity only.

PHR has built constructed wetland covering an area of 5,000 m2 in one of the Rokan Block work areas. The wetland is the company's pilot waste management innovation project.

Currently, PHR is developing 14 wetland construction projects in its work area. This constructed wetland has reduced emissions by 1,341 tCO2eq from January to October 2023. Another positive impact is that waste water discharge is also reduced. Before construction, water discharge reached 11,30 barrels per day (bwpd), whereas now it is only 7,217 bwpd.

PHR Vice President of Facility Engineering Erwin Sinisuka said the development of artificial wetlands is one of PHR's genuine efforts to carry out environmentally friendly operations that comply with environmental standards.
 
"We construct wetlands so that wastewater can be managed well according to the standards of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry," he said at the session "Unlocking the Potentials of Nature-Based Solutions for Adaptation and Mitigation of Climate Change" at the Indonesian Pavilion at COP28 on Friday (1/12).

Constructed wetlands is not only a waste management activity but can provide more significant benefits for the community.

"The community will always be our vocal point, because their involvement can be the key to successful wetland management," Sinisuka said.

PHR also collaborates with local communities to manage these wetlands. The buffer materials and plants used at this location come from local sources, including coconut fiber, which is used as a filter.

Apart from that, the community can use filtered water, he said.

Vice President of Upstream Business Operational Excellence Health, Safety, and Environmental of PHR I Nyoman Widaryantha Naya added that this artificial wetland also becomes a water absorption area, which can reduce the risk of flooding.

"This constructed wetland also has many other benefits for the community. Residents are also now using the area as a small-scale transportation route by boat," Widaryantha said.

In a similar session, the Deputy for Environmental and Forestry Management Coordination at the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Nani Hendiarti, stated that Indonesia has great potential to develop NBS, where 15 percent of the world's NBS potential is in Indonesia.

Seeing these various potentials, the government will develop a blue carbon roadmap.

The existence of Presidential Regulation Number 98 of 2021 concerning the Economic Value of Carbon strengthens the optimization of blue carbon.

"We will also include the marine sector and blue carbon in the nationally determined contribution target," Hendiarti said.

Meanwhile, the Director General of Marine Spatial Management of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Victor Gustaaf Manopo, said that blue carbon is part of climate adaptation through ecosystem resilience.

The event was also attended by Assistant Deputy Secretary of the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment Mohamed Salman Alhammadi, Senior Natural Resources Management Specialist of the World Bank Ambroise Beriner, President Director of Sucofindo Jodi Triananda Hasjim, and Executive Director of the Tropical Forest Alliance World Economic Forum Jack Hurd.

As a leading company in the energy transition sector, Pertamina is committed to supporting the 2060 Net Zero Emission target by continuing to encourage programs that directly impact the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

These efforts align with implementing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) in all Pertamina business lines and operations.