Coal vessel loading at an
Indonesian coal terminal.
Southeast Asian coal
developments
Donald L. Ewart, Jr., Marston & Marston, Inc., US, studies the recent growth in the coal industry
and coal-fired power sector in Southeast Asia.
T
The region of Southeast Asia comprises 10
countries: Brunei, Indonesia, Cambodia
(formerly Kampuchea), Laos, Malaysia,
Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore,
Thailand and Vietnam (Figure 1). Coal is
currently produced in all of these countries,
except Brunei, Cambodia and Singapore.
In the last eight years, coal production in
the region has almost doubled. Figure 2
shows that combined coal production from
the seven Southeast Asian coal-producing
countries increased from approximately 83
million t in 1996 to over 155 million t last
year. This growth in regional coal producReprinted from
World Coal • June 2004
tion has been driven primarily by the rapid
expansion of the Indonesian coal industry,
with Vietnam also experiencing significant
production increases in the last few years.
Indonesia dominates regional coal output and accounted for almost 75% of the
region’s coal production last year. Thailand
and Vietnam are the next largest coal
producers, with production shares last
year of 12% and 11.5%, respectively. The
Philippines accounted for an additional
1.3% of regional coal production for the
year, with the balance from Malaysia,
Figure 1. Southeast Asia comprises 10 countries.
Laos and Myanmar.
Indonesia and Vietnam produce coal
for export as well as domestic markets,
must be augmented with imported coal to
while the other coal-producing countries
meet domestic demand requirements.
only generate coal for domestic consumpOver the last few years, there has been
tion. Indonesia currently exports just over
a marked increase in coal consumption
70% of its annual coal production, while
throughout much of the region. Figure 3
Vietnam exports roughly 35%.
shows that coal consumption in Southeast
To some degree, coal is consumed in all
Asian countries has increased from 50 milof the Southeast Asian countries, except
lion t in 1996 to almost 80 million t in 2002.
Brunei and Cambodia. In Indonesia, Laos,
Coal consumption in Indonesia, Laos,
Myanmar and Vietnam, domestic coal
Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines and
demand is met by indigenous coal producSingapore has at least doubled or tripled
tion, while in Malaysia, the Philippines
between 1996 and 2002. Coal consumption
and Thailand, indigenous coal production
in Vietnam has grown more slowly, while
Reprinted from
World Coal • June 2004
Thailand’s coal consumption has remained
relatively constant.
In Indonesia, Malaysia,
the Philippines, Thailand
and Vietnam, coal is
used extensively for
power generation, while
in Laos, Myanmar and
Singapore coal use is currently limited to
industrial applications. Coal is a particularly important ingredient in the energy
mixes of Indonesia and the Philippines,
with more than one-third of the electricity in these countries currently generated
by coal-fired power plants (Figure 4). In
Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, coal-fired
power currently accounts for 10 - 15% of
total electricity generation.
Throughout much of the region, the use
of coal for power generation is forecast to
capacity has also contributed to
the growth in production, with
10 new coal mines having been
developed since 1998.
Indonesia currently produces
bituminous and sub-bituminous
rank coals from more than 35 different mines in East Kalimantan,
South Kalimantan and Sumatra.
Almost all of Indonesia’s coal
production is derived from openpit mines, with only two or three
small underground mines curPaiton coal-fired IPP project on the island of Java, Indonesia.
rently in operation. The locaincrease steadily over the next 5 - 10 years
tions of major Indonesian coal
as additional coal-fired power plants are
mines are shown in Figure 5.
built. A total of 10 coal-fired power plants
Currently, the largest coal producers
are currently being constructed, with plans
in Indonesia are PT Bumi Resources, PT
to develop at least another 12 coal-fired
Adaro Indonesia (Adaro), PT Kideco Jaya
projects by 2010. This current round of
Agung (Kideco), Banpu Public Co. Ltd
power plant construction should bring
(Banpu) and the state-owned enterprise
6500 MW of new coal-fired generating
PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam (PTBA).
capacity online by 2007, with an additional
Last year, Bumi Resources’ operations pro4800 MW of coal-fired capacity scheduled
duced almost 30 million t of coal. Adaro’s
for development by 2010.
coal production last year approached
22.5 million t, Kideco produced 14 milIndonesia
lion t, Banpu produced approximately
Indonesia currently ranks as the ninth larg11.5 million t, and PTBA’s coal production
est coal producer in the world and is by
reached almost 10 million t. Combined,
far the largest coal producer in Southeast
these top five producers currently account
Asia. Figure 2 shows that Indonesian coal
for more than 75% of Indonesia’s total coal
production has more than doubled in the
production.
last eight years, increasing from 50 million
To meet the rising demand for domestic
t in 1996 to 116 million t last year. Although
and export coal, many Indonesian coal
much of this increase is attributable to
producers are planning to increase output
the expansion of existing operations, new
from existing operations. In addition to the
Figure 5. The locations of the major Indonesian coal mines.
Reprinted from
World Coal • June 2004
various planned mine expansions, several
new coal projects are scheduled to commence operation within the next several
years. Banpu reportedly plans to open its
6 million tpa Trubaindo coal mine in East
Kalimantan by the end of this year, and to
develop its 1 million tpa Mumpun Pandan
coal mine in South Sumatra by the end of
next year.
Furthermore, PT Marunda Grahamineral
(MGM) reportedly plans to begin shipping
coal (primarily coking coal) from its new
mine in Central Kalimantan by the end of
the first half of this year. Initially, the MGM
mine is forecast to produce 1 million tpa of
coal, with coal production increasing to 2
million tpa from 2006 onwards.
Figure 6 shows that Indonesia has
not installed any new coal-fired generating capacity since 2000. However, power
shortages are being predicted for parts
of Indonesia as early as next year, with a
series of rolling blackouts already experienced in East Java and Bali. To keep pace
with the growing demand for electricity,
the Government is calling for the development of up to 12 coal-fired power projects
over the next 10 years.
Indonesia relies heavily on independent power producers (IPPs) for the development of new coal-fired power capacity.
Correspondingly, the state-owned electric
utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN)
recently renegotiated power purchase
agreements (PPAs) with three previouslycancelled coal-fired IPP projects; namely
the 1320 MW Tanjung Jati
B, 200 MW Sibolga A and
110 MW Amurang projects. Reportedly, PLN will
also attempt to revive two
other stalled independent
coal-fired power projects (Serang and Tanjung
Jati A).
Construction
has
resumed on the two unit (2
x 660 MW) Tanjung Jati B
coal-fired power plant, with
commissioning currently
scheduled for 2006. This
project was approximately
70% completed when construction was halted due to
disputes involving power
prices. When fully operational, Tanjung Jati B will
burn 4.5 million tpa of
domestic coal.
After Australia and
China, Indonesia is cur-
First generation coal contractor mining operation in East Kalimantan, Indonesia.
rently the world’s third largest exporter of
coal. Since 1996, Indonesia’s coal exports
have more than doubled, increasing from
36 million t in 1996 to over 74 million t in
2002.
Thailand
Thailand is the second largest coal producing country in Southeast Asia and produces only lignitic-rank coals for domestic
consumption. Thailand’s annual lignite
production has fallen slightly in recent
years, from 22 - 23 million tpa in 1996 and
1997 to less than 19 million t last year.
Over 80% of Thailand’s total annual
lignite production comes from a single
operation, the Mae Moh surface mine in
northern Thailand. All lignite produced
from the Mae Moh Mine is consumed by
the mine-mouth Mae Moh power plant.
Thailand’s remaining lignite production is
derived from a handful of small to medium-size surface mines located primarily in
the northern part of the country.
The country’s three major lignite
producers are the Electric Generating
Authority of Thailand (EGAT), Banpu and
Lanna Resources Public Co. Ltd (Lanna
Resources). The state-owned EGAT operates the Mae Moh surface mine in north-
ern Thailand, while Banpu and Lanna
Resources currently operate two lignite
mines each.
To help ensure the long-term supply of
lignite to the Mae Moh power plant, EGAT
plans to develop the Wiang Haeng lignite deposit in northwest Thailand within
the next several years. Once developed,
this lignite mine is expected to produce
0.5 - 1 million tpa of relatively low-sulphur
lignite for use at the Mae Moh plant.
Thailand’s coal-fired power capacity
currently comprises a single lignite-fired
power plant, EGAT’s 2625 MW Mae Moh
power plant. Until recently, three separate
IPP consortiums had plans to develop
coal-fired power projects on the east coast
of Thailand, with each of these proposed
plants to be fuelled entirely by imported
coal. However, two of these projects are
now to be developed as gas-fired units,
leaving only one coal-fired power project
(BLCP Power’s 1347 MW Map Ta Phut
plant), scheduled for development in
Thailand before 2010.
Construction of the Map Ta Phut plant
is now under way, with both of the plant’s
673.5 MW units currently scheduled to
come online by early 2007. Commissioning
of this project will increase Thailand’s
Reprinted from
World Coal • June 2004
import coal
4 million tpa.
Vietnam
consumption
by
some
Vietnam is currently the third largest coal
producer in Southeast Asia and is also
the fifth largest producer of anthracite
in the world. Its production of primarily anthracite-grade coals reached a record
high of 18 million t last year, almost twice
1996’s production level of 9.8 million t. The
country’s anthracite production is centred
in the Quang Ninh province, northeastern
Vietnam. Vietnam also produces minor
amounts of lignite and bituminous coking
coal for domestic consumption.
The majority of Vietnam’s coal is produced by the state-owned mining company Vietnam Coal Corporation (Vinacoal).
Vinacoal currently operates approximately
30 open-pit and underground coal mines,
with the surface mines accounting for
60 - 70% of the company’s annual coal production. To meet future production targets,
Vinacoal plans to open six new anthracite
mines in Quang Ninh province within the
next seven years.
Figure 6 shows that up until 2001,
Vietnam’s coal-fired power capacity
remained constant at 645 MW. However,
the country’s coal-fired generating capacity was almost doubled in 2002 with the
addition of two 300 MW coal-fired units at
the Pha Lai plant.
From now until 2010, Vietnam’s electricity requirements are projected to increase at
more than 10%/year. According to current
energy plans, a portion of the country’s
growing electricity demand will be fulfilled by a handful of new coal-fired power
projects. Four of these power plants are
currently under construction, with three
additional projects scheduled to be completed by 2008.
The state-owned electricity company
Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) is currently
constructing the first 300 MW unit of the
Cam Pha coal-fired plant in the Quang
Ninh province, and is adding a second
coal-fired unit (300 MW) at the existing
Uong Bi power plant (Figure 1). The new
unit at Uong Bi is scheduled to come online
in 2006, with the Cam Pha plant slated for
commissioning in 2007.
Meanwhile, Vinacoal is developing the
100 MW Cao Ngan and 100 MW Na Duong
coal-fired power projects in the north of
the country. The Na Duong power plant
is scheduled to come online this year, with
the Cao Ngan plant to be commissioned
next year.
In the longer term, the first 300 MW
unit of the proposed Hai Phong coal-fired
power plant is slated for commissioning
in 2007, with another 300 MW unit to be
added in 2008. A second 300 MW unit is
to be installed at Cam Pha in 2008, when a
third (300 MW) unit is also scheduled to be
added at Uong Bi.
Vietnam is the world’s second largest
exporter of anthracite, with primary markets in Japan, China, Europe and Thailand.
Vietnam’s anthracite exports have almost
doubled in the last eight years, increasing
from 3.6 million t in 1996 to 6.5 million t
last year.
The Philippines
Coal production in the Philippines reached
a record high of 2 million t last year, almost
doubling the amount of coal produced previously. Over 90% of the country’s mostly
sub-bituminous coal production derives
from Semirara Coal Corporation’s (SCC)
open-pit mining operations on the island
of Semirara. The balance of the country’s
coal output is from a handful of small
operations on Batan, Cebu, Mindanao and
Negros.
Between 1996 and 2002, coal consumption in the Philippines increased by approx-
Figure 2. Southeast Asian coal production, 1996 - 2003.1
Figure 3. Southeast Asian coal consumption, 1996 - 2002.1
imately 4 million tpa, with the country’s
coal burn approaching 8 million t in 2002.
The Philippines consumes all of its domestically-produced coal internally and also
imports coal from Australia, Indonesia and
China to fuel its eight coal-fired power
plants and cement industry. The country
has not installed any new coal-fired generating capacity since 1998 - 2000. Although
many coal-fired power projects have been
proposed in the last few years, only one
new coal-fired power plant is currently
under construction.
The current Philippine Energy Plan
developed by the Department of Energy
predicts that the country’s electricity
demand will increase at roughly 8%/year
until 2012. While much of the country’s
required new generating capacity in the
short-term is to be powered by renewable
resources such as geothermal and hydropower, one coal-fired power plant is currently being constructed, while a handful
of proposed coal-fired power projects have
Reprinted from
World Coal • June 2004
been delayed by environmental opposition.
Currently, an independent power provider is developing a 232 MW coal-fired
power plant on the island of Mindanao
(Figure 1). Construction of the two unit (2 x
116 MW) Mindanao power plant is expected to take 36 months, with the plant scheduled to become commercially operational
by December 2006. Once operational, the
Mindanao plant will burn 750,000 tpa of
sub-bituminous coal from Indonesia.
At least six other coal-fired power projects have been proposed for short-term
development in the Philippines. However,
development of these projects has been
slowed or halted by intense environmental
opposition.
Malaysia
After peaking at 550,000 t in 2001,
Malaysia’s production of primarily subbituminous coals dropped to roughly
350,000 tpa in 2002 and last year. The bulk
added 1000 MW of
coal-fired capacity
to its existing Kapar
power plant south
of Kuala Lumpur.
Last year, TNB commissioned all three
700 MW units of its
new Manjung power
plant,
bringing
Malaysia’s coal-fired
generating capacity to 3800 MW. The
addition of the new
coal-fired
power
capacity at Kapar
Figure 4. Power generation mix in Southeast Asia.2
and Manjung has
increased Malaysia’s
import coal consumption by almost
8 million tpa.
To help meet
future energy needs,
TNB will increasingly rely on IPPs to
develop new coalfired power capacity.
TNB has negotiated
a PPA with Malakoff
Bhd to develop the
2100 MW Tanjung
Bin coal-fired power
plant in the southern
Figure 6. Southeast Asian coal-fired power generation capacity, 1996 - 2003.
state of Johor, and is
also in the process
of the country’s coal is produced from an
of negotiating a PPA
open-pit mine located in the Merit-Pila
that will pave the way for the developcoalfield of western Sarawak. The balance
ment of the 1400 MW Jimah coal-fired
of Malaysia’s coal production is from two
power project.
other small-scale operations (one openConstruction of the three-unit Tanjung
pit mine and one underground mine),
Bin project began early this year, with
also in western Sarawak.
the first 700 MW unit scheduled to come
Over the last few years, Malaysia’s
online in 2006 and the remaining two 700
coal consumption has doubled, increasMW units slated to begin commercial
ing from approximately 3 million tpa in
operation in 2007. Commissioning of the
the years preceding 2001 to 6 million t
Jimah power plant is tentatively schedin 2002. To satisfy the demands of the
uled for 2010.
country’s domestic coal-fired power and
Laos
cement industries, the country’s relatively
limited indigenous coal production must
Laos’s coal production has quadrupled
be heavily supplemented by coal imports,
in the last eight years, increasing from
primarily from Australia and Indonesia.
60,000 t in 1996 to more than 250,000 t last
In fact, more than 90% of Malaysia’s
year. Laos currently produces anthracite
annual coal requirements are currently
and lignite from a handful of small mines
satisfied by imported coal.
scattered throughout the country.
Since 2000, Malaysia’s coal-fired generCoal production in Laos is accomating capacity has increased by more than
plished by the state-run mining company
500%. In 2001, the state-owned electricity
State Coal Mining Enterprise (SCME) and
company Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB)
two private producers (Hongsa Lignite
Reprinted from
World Coal • June 2004
Co. and Viengphoukha Coal Mine Co.).
All of the country’s coal production is
currently consumed domestically, primarily by the cement industry.
Myanmar
Although Myanmar’s coal production has
more than doubled since 1996, the country still only produces a small amount of
coal, with last year’s production barely
topping 100,000 t. Myanmar currently
produces sub-bituminous coal and lignite
from a handful of small-scale surface
mines located in the central and northern
parts of the country. Currently, coal/lignite mining in Myanmar is carried out by
one of the state-owned mining companies, Mining Enterprise No. 3 (ME-3), and
three private producers.
To help combat growing power shortages, Myanmar is constructing its first
coal-fired power plant in the Tikyit
region of Southern Shan State (Figure
1). Construction of the 2 x 60 MW Tikyit
power plant began in Q2 2002 and was
reportedly 55% completed in Q3 last year.
The Tikyit power plant has been designed
to utilise lignite and sub-bituminous coal
from a nearby mine with an annual coal/
lignite burn of approximately 750,000
tpa.
Conclusion
Many Southeast Asian countries are
increasingly relying on coal-fired power
to meet growing energy requirements
and achieve more balanced energy mixes.
With 6500 MW of coal-fired power capacity currently under construction, and an
additional 4800 MW planned by 2010,
regional coal consumption will increase
significantly over the next 5 - 10 years. This
increased domestic demand, coupled with
projected increases in export coal requirements, will continue to fuel the growth of
Southeast Asia’s coal industry in the years
to come._____________________________n
Sources
1. Figures 2 and 3: ASEAN Centre for
Energy; Asian Development Bank; Energy
Information Administration; Indonesia
Directorate of Mineral and Coal Enterprises
and Department of Mines & Energy; The
Institute of Energy Economics, Japan;
Philippines Department of Energy; Thailand
Energy Policy and Planning Office; and
Vietnam Government General Statistical
Office.
2. Figure 4: EVN, Philippines Department of
Energy; PLN; and Thailand Energy Policy
and Planning Office.