Bukit Asam revises coal export contracts

State owned oil and gas company PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam (PT BA) has revised its export contracts with three foreign buyers from Malaysia, Taiwan and Japan following the significant increase in the coal prices in the world's market, Investor Daily reported on Tuesday.

PT BA's Corporate Secretary Milawarman said in Jakarta on Monday that the prices in the contract had been adjusted to the current coal prices which now reached between US$45 per ton to US$55 per ton, or about 30 percent higher from the previous prices.

"We hope the price adjustment would be able to push this year's sales revenue to Rp 3.2 trillion, or 23 percent higher than in 2004," he was quoted as saying. He added that the three buyers imported between 300,000 tons and 500,000 tons from Bukit Asam a year.

Milawarman also said that the coal mining company which operates a massive coal mine in Tanjungenim, South Sumatra, was also adjusting the prices of coal sold to local buyers, including PT Indonesia Power, to the latest price development.

"We have agreed to fix the price of the coal sold to Indonesia Power at about Rp 250,000 per ton," he said.

Bukit Asam has set a target to produce about 10.2 million tons of coal this year, an increase from 9.9 million tons in 2004. The company hopes the realized prices will reach between US$33 and US$34 per ton this year. (*)