RI?s coal production may decline by 10%: Official

Indonesia?s coal production this year may decline by around 10 percent to 350 million tons from last year?s realized output of 392 million tons amid lingering weak global economy, Bisnis Indonesia reported on Thursday.

The paper quoted Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources spokesman Sujatmiko as saying that production performance of coal miners holding the so-called coal contracts of work (PKP2B), which accounts for about 80 percent of the country?s coal output, in the first semester of this year shows the weaker coal production of the country, the world?s largest exporter of thermal coal.

He said that the coal production of the PKP2B miners in the first semester of this year totaled only 101 million tons.

The government has earlier set coal production target this year at 419 million tons in accordance with the target set in the 2015-2019 National Medium Term Development Plan. The Indonesian Coal Mining Association (ICMA) has earlier projected that the country?s coal production this year to only reach around 350 million tons due to the lingering weak coal price. (*)