PT Bukit Asam Tbk (PTBA) stated that it is ready to start the coal gasification project into dimethyl ether (DME) in 2026. This project is part of coal downstreaming which is expected to replace LPG imports.
PTBA Director of Product Downstreaming and Diversification Turino Yulianto said the coal supply was abundant enough for the company to start developing the project.
"Hopefully the coal gasification project into DME can be started next year because the reserves are ready, the technology is ready," he said when met at the HIPMI-Danantara Business Forum at Hotel Indonesia Kempinski, Jakarta (20/10/2025).
The coal DME project initiated by PTBA is one of six coal downstreaming projects being reviewed by the Investment Management Agency (BPI) Danantara.
The need for coal reserves for the gasification project into dimethyl ether (DME) reaches 5 million-6 million tons per year or 100 million-120 million tons for 20 years. The company has secured 800 million tons of coal reserves for downstream needs including for the DME project.
To build one coal processing plant into DME, the investment requirement is estimated at US$ 2.5 billion or Rp 40 trillion. The company is looking for partners to invest in this project.
PTBA is also still finalizing the economic value of the DME. The discussion was conducted by the company together with Danantara.
Production increases rapidly
PTBA managed to book solid operational performance until the third quarter period of 2025 amid the challenges of global market volatility.
The solid performance is reflected in PTBA's coal production volume, which reached 35.90 million tons by the end of September 2025, an increase of 9 percent compared to the same period in 2024, which was 32.97 million tons.
Turino said the production achievement was also driven by an increase in contribution from a subsidiary engaged in mining services, PT Satria Bahana Sarana.
The PTBA subsidiary contributed 21 percent to the company's total production.
As much as 56 percent of coal sales are absorbed by the domestic market and the rest for export needs.
"This increase in sales performance shows that market demand for PTBA coal is still solid," he said.
In line with the increase in production and sales, coal transportation volume until the third quarter of 2025 reached 30.02 million tons, up 8 percent from the realization in the same period in the previous year, which was 27.83 million tons.
In-depth study
Danantara Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Rosan Roeslani stated that Danantara is reviewing a number of funding schemes for the six coal gasification projects into DME worth IDR 164 trillion, including inviting private parties and state-owned companies to invest in the project.
Danantara is also considering investing directly in the project, or combining private and state-owned enterprise (SOE) funding with Danantara's own.
"Danantara is still reviewing all the funding schemes. Currently, Danantara is evaluating the pre-feasibility study (FS) document provided by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources," he said at the HIPMI-Danantara Business Forum in Jakarta (20/10).
Rosan emphasized that Danantara will encourage private parties and state-owned enterprises to invest in the coal DME project. However, he was reluctant to mention which parties had expressed interest in pouring funds into the coal downstreaming project.
On the same occasion at the HIPMI-Danantara Business Forum 2025, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Bahlil Lahadalia revealed that the government will start intensifying the coal downstream program into dimethyl ether (DME). DME itself can act as a substitute for domestic Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) raw materials.
National LPG demand is currently increasing, while domestic production capacity is still very limited, far from the level of demand. To meet LPG demand, Indonesia currently relies on imports, which reach 7 million tons per year.
Seeing these conditions, the government will encourage the utilization of low-calorie coal into DME as a raw material for LPG substitutes.
"These efforts are considered in line with the government's grand strategy of energy self-sufficiency, as well as suppressing imports that burden the trade balance," he said.
According to him, the downstreaming of coal into DME will follow in the footsteps of the success of nickel downstreaming, which has increased Indonesia's export value by ten times.
