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Indonesian-Chinese consortium begins study on $560M coal-to-methanol plant
An agreement signed by the two companies on a feasibility study for the project comes as the government seeks new use for the country’s abundant coal reserves.
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Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita attends the signing ceremony for an agreement between Powerindo Cipta Energy (PCE) and China National Chemical Engineering Corporation to begin a feasibility study for a $560-million coal-to-methanol plant. (Industry Ministry/Public relation team)
A
n Indonesian and a Chinese company have inked an agreement to begin a feasibility study for a coal-to-methanol plant worth US$560 million.
The announcement comes as the government is pushing for downstream development to get more value out of the country’s rich coal reserves.
The agreement was signed between Indonesia’s Powerindo Cipta Energy (PCE) and China National Chemical Engineering Corporation, which have formed a consortium for the project.
The plant is to be located near a coal mine in Meulaboh, Aceh, processing 1.1 million tons of coal into 600,000 tons of methanol annually, around half of last year’s domestic demand for methanol, according to an Industry Ministry estimate.
“This project will [employ] 600 to 700 workers. According to the plan, the project will be in the construction phase in mid-2022,” Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita, who attended the signing ceremony at his office, said in a statement on Monday.
Read also: House approves revised Mining Law amid outcry
The project is in line with the government’s intention to push coal gasification, as stated in the 2020 Job Creation Law and the 2020 revision of the Mining Law.
