Coal India keen on block development in Indonesia

Coal India Ltd has proposed development of a coal block in Indonesia in joint venture with the country's State sector.The proposal, aimed at forging co-operation in the coal sector between the two countries, was mooted at the India-Indonesia Working Group meeting held in Jakarta earlier this month.

The Indian delegation was headed by Mr Alok Perti, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Coal, who is also the Government nominee on the CIL board.Sources told that during the meeting, the CIL chairman, Mr Partha S. Bhattacharyya, proposed that the State enterprises of both the countries should join hands in developing a coal block in Indonesia to identify the mutual strengths and weaknesses and define the course of cooperation. He had also requested the Indonesian Government to identify a block for the purpose.“Apparently the proposal was appreciated by the Indonesian delegation. However, a decision is awaited,” a source said.

An agreement on the part of the Indonesian Government is likely to help CIL gain foothold in India's largest sourcing point of thermal coal. This is parallel to the company's attempt to strike joint ventures with the Indonesian coal companies through global tender.The Indian coal major was previously awarded two exploratory blocks by the Mozambique Government as part of a bi-lateral concession agreement between the two countries.

Coal production flat

CIL is stressing on liquidating its huge pithead stocks during the current quarter rather than adding to it by increasing production. Pithead stocks witnessed a sharp rise in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal due to high production and low dispatch, allegedly caused by low availability of wagons.

“We have managed a sharp increase in supplies so far in the first quarter of 2010-11 by liquidating our stocks. Coal production will remain flat during the quarter as we have mobilised our production capacity in overburden removal in the opencast mines. This would help us in stepping up production in the following quarters at a faster rate than last year,” a company source said.CIL is targeting a 7 per cent growth in production to 460 million tonnes in this fiscal.

 

Expanding horizon

• Agreement by the Indonesian Government is likely to help CIL gain foothold in India's largest sourcing point of thermal coal.
• This is parallel to the company's attempt to strike joint ventures with the Indonesian coal companies through global tender.