Priamanaya in coal gasification talks with Gulf Petroleum

Priamanaya Group will cooperate with Gulf Petroleum of Qatar to build a coal gasification plant near the company?s coal mines in Lahat, South Sumatra, Bisnis Indonesia reported on Tuesday.

Priamanaya?s Chief Executive Officer Susilo Djiwantoro said in Jakarta on Monday that Priamanaya Group and Gulf Petroleum would form a joint venture to operate the coal gasification plant which would process synthetic gas for industries, adding that it takes at least US$1 billion of investment.

?Priamanaya will have a 20 percent stake in the joint venture, while Gulf will hold the remaining 80 percent,? he said, adding that the joint venture would carry out feasibility study for the development of the coal gasification plant later this year. ?We hope the feasibility study could be completed in nine months to one year,? he said.

He said that the coal for the gasification plant would be taken from the company?s coal mines in Lahat and Prabumulih, both in South Sumatra. The Lahat coal mine which covers about 2,000 hectares has coal reserves of about 280,000 million tons. The Prabumulih coal mine which covers about 100,000 hectares is now under exploration stage.

Susilo said that by the end of 2009, coal production from the two coal mines could reach 1 million tons a year. (*)