Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), Bahlil Lahadalia, says that the coal sector still offers good investment potential for Indonesia as there are no signs of retirement from the use of black gold as yet.
“Europe is still asking for an export contract for Indonesian coal for up to 20 years. So, don’t be fooled that coal is about to retire,” Bahlil said on Tuesday, February 11, 2025.
He cited how Trump’s election as U.S. president also affected the coal sector. The world map has changed, from initially focusing on green energy to now returning to fossils.
“Once Trump became U.S. president, this (green energy) road was all over. We thought coal was finished, but this thing came back to life,” he said.
Minerba One Data Indonesia (MODI) said that coal production realization in 2024 reached 834.1 million tons or 117.48 percent of the target of 710 million tons.
Of this realization, 440.85 million tons of production were allocated for export, while the remaining 232.6 million tons are to meet domestic needs (DMO).
Export limit plan
Previously, Bahlil has planned to limit coal exports this year. The move will be followed by the obligation to use local prices in the global market. Meanwhile, the price of local coal in the Indonesia Coal Price Index (ICI) is higher than the reference coal price (HBA).
The government plans to issue sanctions for parties who do not comply with the HBA, such as revoking export permits. This step is important so that Indonesia has sovereignty in determining the price of the commodity.
The ESDM ministry issues HBA to set coal sales prices according to its specifications. For ICI, the figures were issued by PT Coalindo Energi and Argus Media from the UK.
So far, the low price of local coal in the market has caused the Non-Tax State Revenue (PNBP) of the mineral and coal sector to shrink. Although, this sector is the main contributor to the PNBP of the energy and mineral sector. In 2024, this figure reached Rp269.6 trillion (52.11 percent) of the total realization of energy and mineral sector’s PNBP.
