Indonesian Coal Statistics 2006-2013:

     2006    2007    2008    2009    2010    2011    2012    2013
Production     194     217     240     256     275     353     383     421
Export     144     163     191     198     208     272     304     349
Domestic      49      61      49      56      67      80      79      72

in million tons
Source: Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources

What drives the increase in Indonesian coal production and export?

  • Coal is the dominating force in power generation. At least 27 percent of the world's total energy output and more than 39 percent of all electricity is produced by coal-fired power plants due to coal's abundance, its relatively easy and low-cost extraction, and less expensive infrastructure requirements compared to other energy resources.

  • Indonesia contains abundant reserves in medium and low-quality coal. These types of coal are competitively priced on the international market (partly due to Indonesia's low labor wages).

  • Indonesia's strategic geographical position towards the giant emerging markets of China and India. Demand for low quality coal from these two countries is skyrocketing as they open many new coal-fired power plants to supply electricity to their immense populations. Global coal demand is in fact estimated to exceed global coal production over the next five years, implying rising coal prices.

  • Domestic coal consumption in Indonesia is relatively low. Increased national production and international demand therefore results in higher exports.

Discuss