Peabody, Supra Bara in Indonesian coal deal

US top coal producer and trader Peabody Energy said on Monday that it has entered into an agreement to source coal from PT Supra Bara Energi (SBE), which will be sold on the export market to customers in Asia through Peabody's COALTRADE international Singapore trading hub. Peabody will source several million tons of coal over five years from SBE's mine in East Kalimantan.

"This agreement continues to demonstrate the strength of Peabody's leading coal trading and brokerage platform to serve enormous demand growth in China, India and other key Asian markets," said Peabody President and Chief Commercial Officer Richard A. Navarre. "The Asia-Pacific region is driving global demand for coal, and Indonesia is the world's largest thermal coal exporter. Peabody expects to continue to grow its presence in Indonesia."

Indonesia is the fastest-growing supplier of coal to the Pacific Rim. More than 90 percent of the 3.5 billion metric ton forecast coal demand growth is expected to come from this region in the next 20 years.

Peabody serves customers on six continents and has trading and business offices in Indonesia, Singapore, China, Australia, the United Kingdom, Venezuela and the United States.

Peabody Energy is the world's largest private-sector coal company and a global leader in clean coal solutions. With 2009 sales of 244 million tons and $6 billion in revenues, Peabody fuels 10 percent of U.S. power and 2 percent of worldwide electricity.(alex)