Indonesia has begun large-scale international projects to bury billions of tons of carbon dioxide underground as part of global efforts to reduce emissions. The first project has already been implemented, with the participation of UK company BP in West Papua province of New Guinea island, Japanese newspaper Nikkei reports.

Up to 1.8 billion tons of liquefied carbon dioxide collected in industrial facilities can be buried in underground layers. The project shall be operational from 2026, and the respective investments are estimated at $2.6 billion. The carbon dioxide collected in Indonesia and abroad is expected to be pumped here.

A larger project will be implemented in the southeast of Sumatra island, with the participation of the Indonesian national oil and gas company Pertamina and the American oil company Exxon Mobil.

Up to 3 billion tons of carbon dioxide can be buried in the place of underground mines. It is planned to bring it in liquid form, by tankers, from the countries of the Asia-Pacific region.

Under these projects, carbon dioxide will be pumped under high pressure, and more than 1,000 meters below the earth's surface.

According to experts' calculations, up to 572 billion tons of carbon dioxide can be buried in developed oil and natural gas fields and other suitable waste places in Indonesia. The existing storage facilities in the world can store only 69 million tons of liquefied carbon dioxide.