R-Power to buy more coal mines in Indonesia

P B Jayakumar / Business Standard, Mumbai May 02, 2008

Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group's (ADAG) flagship company Reliance Power, which recently acquired three coal assets with coal reserves of about 2 billion tonnes in the Musi Rawas region of South Sumathra in Indonesia, is close to acquiring more coal mines in the same region.

POWER FUEL

• Reliance to buy the mines with reserves of 2 billion tonnes on a risk-free production-linked model
  
• Since the mines are located in the South Sumatra region which is closer to India's east coast, shipping time will be cut down by two days
  
• Reliance plans to build infrastructure, including a 100-kilometre railway line
  
• The three mines acquired by Reliance Power in Indonesia have coal reserves valued at about Rs 20,000 crore
  
• "Reliance Power has identified a few targets in the same region and negotiations are in advanced stages. It is also scouting for large coal fields in Mozambique and South Africa," said sources close to the development.
  

 

The company plans to buy coal mines on a risk-free production-linked benefit sharing model, which does not involve upfront payment. The three mines acquired by Reliance Power in Indonesia have coal reserves valued at about Rs 20,000 crore. 

Reliance Power plans to invest more than Rs 4,000 crore to develop the assets and extract about 25 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of coal. It will also build a 100-kilometre railway line and a captive jetty for shipping coal to India. 

The privately-held assets have an exploitation license and, hence, production can start immediately. 

The South Sumatra region is closer to India's east coast, which will help reduce the shipping time by two days compared with the coal fields in Kali Mandan and Bali region where companies, such as Tata Power, partly own mines. 

This geographical advantage will reduce the shipping costs by Rs 60-70 a tonne (10-15 per cent). "The region has many private mines that have production clearances," the sources said. 

Srivijaya Bintangtiga Energy, Bryayan Bintangtiga Energy and Sugico Pendragon Energy - the three acquired coal assets - are spread over 40,000 hectares and have coal reserves of about 2 billion tonnes. The acquisitions were made through Reliance Coal Resources, a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Power. 

The company has not made any upfront payment for the assets so far since they were purchased under the production model. 

The coal reserves are adequate to fuel the company's Krishnapattanam ultra mega power project (UMPP), the 1,200 mw Shahpur project in Maharashtra and another large-scale power project for 20 to 25 years. 

The Krishnapattanam UMPP alone requires about 15 million tonnes of coal per annum and Reliance Power hopes to commission the project ahead of the scheduled commissioning by 2013. The Shahpur project is scheduled to take off in a few years and land acquisition will start in three to four months, said sources. 

Reliance Power is currently developing 13 power projects with a combined installed capacity of 28,200 mw, including the Sasan and Krishnapattanam UMPPs.