Sumatra produces 23 million tons of coal in 2011: Govt data

By Adianto P. Simamora

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources' new data unveiled that the coal production from the island of Sumatra reached 23 million tons in 2011, higher compared to 17 million tons in the previous year, with the state-owned coal miner Bukit Asam Tbk contributing 12 million tons.

Director of Coal Business Development at the ministry Edi Prasodjo said that the figure was not final yet, adding that the coal production was actually very low given the huge coal resources in many parts of the island.

He said that the low production was due among others to the fact that majority of the coal is categorized as lignite to sub-bitumious and located in the remote areas with limited transportation infrastructure.

?We are also facing limited transportation infrastructure and permits overlapping issues in Sumatra,? Edi told participants of the two-day seminar ?Unlocking Sumatra Coal Potential? organized by Petromindo.com. The seminar presented high rank officials among others South Sumatra Governor Alex Nurdin as speakers.

Edi in his presentation also invited investors to develop the transportation facilities to ramp up the coal production from Sumatra and develop upgrading coal facilities required to upgrade the calorific value of the coal.

Edi said that of the 23 million tons production of coal, about 12 million contributed to the domestic market with the remaining for export.

Editing by David Mustakim