State-owned nickel and gold mining company PT Aneka Tambang (ANTM.JK) is considering acquiring a stake in BHP Billiton Ltd.'s (BHP) Indonesian coal assets as part of its plan to buy a coal project as early as this year, an executive at Antam, as the company is known, said Thursday.

A move by Antam for BHP's coal assets could face stiff competition, as a consortium led by state-owned coal producer PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam (PTBA.JK) earlier this week said it has submitted a bid for the assets, while local coal companies PT Medco Energi International (MEDC.JK), PT Adaro Energy (ADRO.JK) and PT Bumi Resources (BUMI.JK) have also expressed interest in the assets.

Antam is considering buying into coal projects BHP Billiton has indicated it wants to sell, or partnering with the Australian miner to develop them, Djaja Tambunan, Antam's finance director, told Dow Jones Newswires. He didn't indicate how large a stake Antam might seek.

BHP Billiton has said it is considering selling all or part of the Maruwai metallurgical coal project, which consists of seven contract areas in Central and East Kalimantan. The company earlier this year dropped a plan to spend about $100 million developing the Haju trial mine at Maruwai.

BHP Billiton had planned to eventually produce 2 million metric tons of coal a year from Haju and 3 million to 5 million tons a year at the larger Lampunut deposit in Maruwai, and to build transportation facilities in the area.

A spokesperson at BHP Billiton in Australia declined to comment directly on Antam's comment, saying only that the company "continues to review (its) commercial options" with regard to Maruwai, including selling all or part of the project.

Tambunan said Antam is also looking at other coal assets in Kalimantan and Sulawesi provinces, and hopes to clinch a deal this year as the company expands its coal-fired power generating capacity. He didn't elaborate on how many assets Antam plans to buy.

-By Linda Silaen, Dow Jones Newswires; 62 21 3983 1277; Reuben.Carder@dowjones.com