PT BA develops coal fuel
Tuesday, August 8 2000 - 03:30 AM WIB
State owned coal mining company PT Batubara Bukit Asam (PT BA) is currently engaged in a diversification program to produce fuel from low grade coal. From this project, the company expects to produce about 120,000 barrels of oil a day
The company's president R Sunardi said in Tanjung Enim on Monday that the coal liquefaction project, which has cost the company Rp 4 billion, would use low grade coal from the company's mining area in Tanjung Enim.
He said the project, which was initiated in 1991 as the first coal liquefaction research program in the world, was assisted by researchers from the government's research agency (BPPT) and Japan's NEDO research center.
According to him, the coal liquefaction program would be further carried out in Bangko area, part of its coal concession in Tanjung Enim, South Sumatera. "The Bangko area with at least 900 million of low grade coal deposits will be the focus of the coal liquefaction program in the future," he added.
He said that the company, through the coal liquefaction program, could produce about 2.52 billion barrels of oil a year or about 120,000 barrels per day from the location. (*)