Coal India signs off on offshore acquisition plan

Brisbane (Energy Publishing) - Giant Indian resources company, Coal India Ltd, is pushing hard to close offshore coal mine acquisitions and investments by mid-year - with a budget up to US$2B.

The CIL board is reported to have signed off on a plan to target equity positions in as many as 15 coal operations - targetting Australia, Indonesia and the US.

Reports quote CIL chairman, Partha S. Bhattacharyya, as saying the company is ready to lock up deals to secure access to as much as 20Mt of extra coal supplies from offshore "in six months or so".