NTPC to pursue coal mine acquisition in Australia, Indonesia

NTPC, the country’s largest power producer, has set the ball rolling to acquire coal mines or form joint ventures (JVs) in Australia, Indonesia, Mozambique and South Africa.The state-owned company will soon deploy special teams to pursue its plans in Australia and Indonesia.

“The company has already identified coal mine in Australia. The Australian government has assured necessary assistance during the recent visit by Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde. A company delegation will visit New South Wales, Brisbane, Perth during a three-day visit, beginning July 20,” NTPC Chairman and Managing Director RS Sharma told .He said the emphasis would be on acquisition of existing mines or form joint ventures.

NTPC, which plans to increase its capacity from 30,000 mega watt (Mw) to 75,000 Mw by 2017, hopes to import 5-10 million tonnes of coal from Australia in the next three-five years. The company also plans to import same quantity of coal from Indonesia. NTPC aims to import 25-30 million tonnes of coal, compared to 15 million tonnes now, within next five years.Sharma informed the company had identified mines in Indonesia and Mozambique and was in talks regarding this.

NTPC expects to start production from its Pakri Barwadih coal block in Jharkhand this financial year. The company has set a coal production target of 12 million tones per annum (mtpa) by 2012 and 47 mtpa by 2017 from the six blocks allotted to it.NTPC has also formed a JV with Coal India (CIL) to develop, operate and maintain two coal mining blocks in Jharkhand.Moreover, NTPC has signed a 20-year supply agreement with CIL to ensure guaranteed coal supply at 90 per cent of annual contracted quantity for its generating stations.