24 July 2026, 10:55 UTC

Bukit Asam Sells 21.1 Million Tonnes of Coal in H1 2026, DMO Reaches 55%

Indonesian state miner PT Bukit Asam sold 21.1 million tonnes of coal in the first half of 2026. Domestic Market Obligation deliveries reached 55%, more than double the government's 25% minimum, with supply to state utility PLN kept as the priority.

First-half sales volume

Indonesian state-controlled miner PT Bukit Asam Tbk (PTBA) sold 21.1 million tonnes of coal in the first half of 2026, according to market.bisnis.com and suara.com. Suara.com puts the figure precisely at 21.10 million tonnes for the January-June period.

The result places one of Indonesia's largest state coal producers firmly on the domestic supply side of the market, with the bulk of tonnage directed to buyers inside the country rather than to export terminals.

Domestic obligation runs well above the floor

Of the total volume, 55% was allocated to the Domestic Market Obligation (DMO), the government scheme that requires coal miners to reserve part of their output for the local market. That share is more than double the minimum threshold of 25% set by the government, according to market.bisnis.com.

The DMO mechanism is Indonesia's principal tool for securing feedstock for domestic power generation and industry at regulated conditions. By delivering 55% of its first-half sales under the obligation, PTBA has cleared the regulatory floor with a wide margin, signalling that the company is prioritising the home market over higher-priced international shipments.

PLN stays the priority buyer

Suara.com reports that supply to state electricity utility PLN remains the company's priority, with the largest share of coal channelled to the power producer. PLN operates the coal-fired plants that form the backbone of Indonesia's electricity system, and steady deliveries from domestic miners such as PTBA underpin generation across the archipelago.

Keeping PLN supplied is the operational core of the DMO for a state miner. The utility's fleet of thermal power stations depends on predictable coal volumes, and PTBA's first-half performance indicates that those flows were maintained through the period.

What the numbers signal

The combination of a 21.1-million-tonne sales base and a 55% domestic share shows a producer weighted toward the internal market at a time when Indonesia continues to balance export revenue against domestic energy security. The 25% DMO floor is designed to guarantee minimum domestic availability; PTBA's figure sits far above it.

Total H1 2026 sales: 21.1 million tonnes (21.10 million tonnes per suara.com).
DMO share: 55% of sales.
Government DMO floor: 25%.
Priority buyer: state utility PLN.

Neither source provides export volumes, pricing, or a year-earlier comparison for the sales figure, so the scale of any change from prior periods cannot be established from the reported material. What the data confirms is the direction of PTBA's allocation: heavily toward domestic supply and comfortably compliant with the DMO rule.

Expert commentary

“PTBA sold 21.1 million tonnes in the first half and sent 55% of it to the domestic market. That is more than double the 25% floor the government requires. For a state miner, this is the expected posture: feed PLN first, export what is left.

The priority to PLN is the key line. Indonesia's power system runs on coal-fired plants, and those plants need steady, regulated-condition supply. When a state producer routes the largest share of its coal to the national utility, it is trading some export upside for guaranteed domestic offtake and political cover.

What we cannot judge yet is the money. The sources give no export volume, no realised price, and no comparison with a year ago. So we know PTBA is well inside the rules and heavily domestic, but not what that mix did to margins. For traders watching Indonesian supply, the takeaway is simple: a large chunk of PTBA's tonnage stays home by design, and that is unlikely to change while the DMO holds.”

Priya Raghavan

Energy Markets Analyst