Foreigners Called Not Interested In Indonesia's DME Project, Ministry Of Energy And Mineral Resources Says This

JAKARTA - Director General of Mineral and Coal (Minerba) of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Tri Winarno opened his voice regarding the statement by the Deputy for Investment Promotion at the Ministry of Investment and Downstreaming/BKPM, Nurul Ichwan, who said that there were no foreign investors who stated an official commitment to enter the project.

Tr Winarno said that in fact there was already one foreign investor who had held talks with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources regarding this coal gasification project.

"What is clear is that there has been a chat and the direction is positive," Tri was quoted as saying on Friday, October 10.

Tri said the investment was still hampered by funding problems. In addition, there are third parties and do not involve the state.

"He said at that time there was a third party, it did not involve the state. Well, we are in the process," Tri continued.

However, he did not reveal the name of the foreign company.

Tri also did not deny that this project did not actually have new investors after Air Product left.

Previously, the Deputy for Investment Promotion at the Ministry of Investment and Downstreaming/BKPM, Nurul Ichwan, said that no foreign investors had stated an official commitment to enter the coal gasification project into dimethyl ether (DME) in Indonesia.

Previously, petrochemical companies from the United States (US), Air Products and Chemicals withdrew from the DME project.

"For DME, we have not heard of which very clear companies will enter Indonesia," said Nurul when met in the South Jakarta area, Tuesday, October 7.

Menurut Nurul, Indonesia memiliki kepentingan terhadap proyek DME karena melimpahnya cadangan batu bara di dalam negeri. Nurul bilang, dengan konversi batu bara menjadi gas, maka sebagian kebutuhan impor energi bisa kurangi.

Sekadar informasi, DME merupakan proyek yang digadang-gadang sebagai alternatif untuk mengurangi ketergantungan impor elpiji dan mendorong kemandirian energi nasional.

According to Nurul, Indonesia has an interest in the DME project because of the abundance of coal reserves in the country. Nurul said, by converting coal into gas, some of the energy import needs could reduce.

For your information, DME is a project that is predicted as an alternative to reduce dependence on LPG imports and encourage national energy independence.