This image is not related to the article. [Getty Images Bank]
This image is not related to the article. [Getty Images Bank]

South Korea and Indonesia are moving to advance cooperation on offshore plant recycling and specialist workforce training. The two countries have translated a memorandum of understanding signed at an April summit into an actionable framework with clearly defined roles and responsibilities.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said Monday it will sign an "Implementation Arrangement for Cooperation in the Korea-Indonesia Offshore Plant Service Industry" with Indonesia's Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, and Ministry of Transportation on Tuesday.

The arrangement follows the MOU concluded on the sidelines of the Korea-Indonesia summit on April 1, and is designed to sharpen the division of labor across individual projects to strengthen their execution.

Under the agreement, South Korea will oversee a pilot project to convert decommissioned Indonesian offshore plants into liquefied natural gas supply facilities. It will also handle process design and offshore construction work for carbon capture and storage applications. Indonesia will provide information on offshore plant assets and manage local permitting and regulatory support.

The two countries will also pursue offshore plant specialist training as an Official Development Assistance project. Plans call for building educational infrastructure at Jakarta Maritime University and running local training programs, supplemented by invitation-based training in South Korea and corporate internship opportunities.

The ministry plans to use this cooperation as a springboard to expand offshore plant service industry partnerships to other Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam and Malaysia.

"This implementation arrangement clearly defines each country's roles and the project execution framework, allowing us to generate tangible cooperation outcomes quickly," said Seo Jeong-ho, director general for maritime policy at the ministry. "We will also build on the cooperation model with Indonesia to broaden partnerships with other major Southeast Asian nations."


adastra@heraldcorp.com