JAKARTA (TheInsiderStories) - Publicly listed company, PT Bukit Asam Tbk (IDX: PTBA) signed a head of agreement with an Australian firm, Activated Carbon Technologies Pty. Ltd., (ACT) to develop downstream project in Indonesia. The activated carbon producer and supplier will acted as the off-taker of the coal miner production.
The director, Fuad IZ, explained that the mining firm plans to build a factory in the Tanjung Enim Industrial Estate, North Sumatera, to produce 12,000 tones of activated carbon from 60,000 tones of coal per annum. Preparation for the front end engineering design for the factory will begin in this year.
“Its hoped that in 2023, the realization of the first shipment of activated carbon from Tanjung Enim to ports in Australia can be realized,” he said in an official statement released on Tuesday (01/05).
While, ACT CEO and founder, Peter Cullum, admitted, apart from the partnering, he also saw a growing demand for activated carbon will continues to grow and he optimize to reach a wider market in the world. The Australian manufacturer has a production capacity of over 40,000 tones of activated carbon per year with a global market included New Zealand, Europe, Canada, and the United States.
Gasification project
Beside activated carbon, Bukit Asam also targeted that the $ 2.1 billion coal gasification project into dimethyl ether (DME) will start in the first or second quarter of 2021 expect to start the operating in the second quarter of 2024. CEO of the producer, Arviyan Arifin, said the companies involved in this gasification project are state energy firm, PT Pertamina, and Air Products.
He said, that the investment for the construction of this gasification project, including the production costs, will all be borne by its business partner from the United States. This project uses a built-operate-transfer (BOT) scheme with a period up to 20 years.
In the initial stage, Bukit Asam will only act as a supplier of low-calorie coal for DME raw materials until one year the project runs and is then given the option to own shares in the following year. After the BOT expired, this project will become a joint venture project between the miner and Pertamina.
The coal downstream plant will process as much as 6 million tones of coal per year and process it into 1.4 million tons of DME which can be used as an alternative fuel to replace liquid petroleum gas (LPG). The presence of DME as an alternative fuel can help reduce LPG imports and save foreign exchange.
Based on the calculation of the coordinating ministry for maritime and investment affairs, the potential state savings from this coal gasification project could reach Rp8.7 trillion per year.
US$1: Rp14,000
Written by Editorial Staff, Email: theinsiderstories@gmail.com
