Indonesian officials say coal export activities will resume the launch of a new sales quota framework at the beginning of this week.

Indonesia's ban on coal exports at the beginning of the new year is expected to come to an end in the next day or two, and some ships are expected to leave the country carrying coal as soon as tonight or Tuesday, several media reported on Monday.

Minister of Maritime and Investment Coordination Luhut Pandjaitan made it clear in an interview with CNBC on Monday: "We can release some large [coal] ships later on Monday or Tuesday." Also earlier on Monday, Indonesian Energy Minister Arifin Tasrif also told Japanese Foreign Minister Hiroshida that the Indonesian government is expected to make a decision in the next few days (on banning coal exports).

At the beginning of the new year, as Indonesia's state-owned power company (PLN) reported that domestic power plant coal stocks bottomed out, the world's largest thermal coal exporter issued an export ban, pushing up global coal prices, while also triggering protests in Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and other consumer countries.

In addition, according to Indonesian media KONTAN reported on Monday night, Pandjaitan also said today that in addition to several coal carriers will be approved and set sail in these two days, starting from January 12 (Wednesday), for enterprises that meet the domestic market promise to sell (DMO), coal export activities will resume as a whole. Under the new DMO framework, domestic coal mines need to sell at least 25 per cent of their domestic production capacity, according to Pandjaitan.

On Monday, however, Pandjaitan did not specify which companies would be approved to restart exports. Pandjaitan stressed that sanctions and fines will be imposed in accordance with the regulations if any company fails to meet its commitments to the Indonesian state-owned power company (PLN).

Pandu Sjahrir, chairman of the Indonesian Coal Mining Association, also said in an interview that PLN already has 13.9 million tons of coal reserves on hand, and the company hopes to reach 20 million tons, about enough for 20 days. Pandu said the coal mines had provided coal in accordance with the wishes of the power companies.

Fabby Tumiwa, executive director of IESR, an energy think-tank, said that the biggest problem with coal (restocking) right now is logistics, but a solution will be found sooner or later. Generally speaking, it takes up to 10 days to transport coal from a coal mine to a power station, but in a humid January, it can take four days to pack.