Prospect of coal-based methanol market in Indonesia

Abstract

Coal is one of the commodities in the mining sector which is currently being pushed to strengthen the structure of the upstream petrochemical industry, including methanol as a raw material for various derivative industries, most of which are still imported. Currently, Indonesia has only one methanol plant with a production capacity of 660,000 tons. During 2023-2035, Indonesia needs an average of 1.77 million tons of methanol per year. If, until 2035, Indonesia does not add and build a methanol plant, then Indonesia will always import 1.51 million tons per year. Results indicate that the methanol plant, through coal gasification, can support the growth of the methanol-base industry to reach domestic needs and reduce imports. It can also as an export commodity to generate foreign exchange.