Energy and infrastructure company PT Indika Energy, the parent company of Indonesia's third largest coal producer PT Kideco Jaya Agung, expects its coal production to grow by 12.68 percent next year.

Indika plans to produce as much as 28 million tons of coal in 2010, up from 24.85 million tons targeted this year, chief financial officer Azis Armand told reporters Monday.

He said the production increase would come both from Kideco and from mining company PT Petrosea, which is in the process of acquisition by Indika. Azis said Kideco was expected to produce as much as 26 million tons of coal in 2010, up from 24 million tons of coal production targeted this year.

Indika owns 46 percent of Kideco, a holder of a first-generation Coal Contract of Work, locally known as PKP2B, valid through to 2023. Kideco owns 50,400 hectares of coal concessions in East Kalimantan. It produced 22 million tons of coal in 2008.

Azis said that Indika also expected to start receiving as much as 850,000 tons of additional coal from Petrosea's subsidiary PT Santan Batubara this year. Production is expected to increase to two million tons in 2010, he added.

On April 14, Indika signed a Conditional Sale and Purchase Agreement (CSPA) to acquire a 81.95 percent stake in Petrosea from its majority shareholder Clough International Singapore Pte Ltd for US$83.8 million.

"Close of transaction *for the acquisition* is targeted for early June."

In December last year, Indika also acquired coal mining rights to 13 sites, locally known as KP, in Melawi, West Kalimantan. These KPs have a total concession area of 53,000 hectares in total with coal reserves estimated at 150 million tons.

Arsjad Rasjid, Indika's president director, said ten of the KPs are already at the exploration stage and the remaining three are at the pre-survey stage. "We expect the KPs to start initial production in 2012."

Azis said Indika spent US$18.5 million on the acquisition of the KPs. He added the development cost of the mines was estimated at $100 million over three years.

"This year, we aim to spend about $10 million on the KPs," Azis said.

According to Azis, Indika's total capital expenditure for this year was forecast to reach between $50 million and $55 million.

He added that outside this capital expenditure, Indika still had between $250 million and $300 million of cash reserves available.

"We still have available cash. Therefore, we will evaluate whether we still need other acquisitions or not," Azis said.

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