APBI upbeat coal production will reach 340 MT this year
Friday, September 23 2011 - 02:56 AM WIB
The association?s chairman Bob Kamandanu said in Jakarta on Thursday that the coal production had reached a total of 235 million during the first eight months of this year. ?We are optimistic that the production will reach our initial target of 340 million tonnes this year,? he said at the sideline of the Indonesian Mining Conference and Exhibition.
He said if rains were more frequent than expected during the period from September to December, the production could slightly below the target. For next year, the association estimated the country?s total coal production would increase to 360 million tonnes. ?However, the production could reach 370 million tonnes if there are not so much rains,? he added.
Indonesian coal producers are required under the domestic market obligation (DMO) regulation to sell part of their production to the domestic market. The amount of the production that has to be sold to local buyers is determined by the government depending on the domestic demand.
The association estimated that in 2011 about 65 million tonnes of the country?s total production would be sold to the domestic users under the DMO, and about 75 million tonnes in 2012.
According to the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, the domestic coal need in 2012 will reach about 82.07 million tonnes comprising 70 million tonnes for coal-fired power plants, 320,000 tonnes for metallurgy and the remaining for cement, fertilizer, pulp and textile industries. (*)