Indonesia starts construction of US$2.3 billion coal gasification plant to cut LPG imports

The new Indonesian plant is designed to utilise 6 million tonnes of low rank coal to produce 1.4 tonnes of dimethyl ether annually. - Reuters

JAKARTA, Jan 24 (Reuters): Indonesian President Joko Widodo launched construction of a US$2.3 billion coal gasification plant on Monday, in a bid to slash the country's liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) imports while optimising its coal resources.

The plant is designed to utilise 6 million tonnes of low rank coal to produce 1.4 tonnes of dimethyl ether (DME) annually, which can reduce Indonesia's LPG import by 1 million tonnes per year, according to state coal miner Bukit Asam, which is building the plant in partnership with US firm Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.