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Sunday, 20 June 10
OUR COAL: ITS DEVELOPMENT AND CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES
 Indonesia’s production of coal has been growing amazingly. In the mid 1980s, national coal production was less than 1 million tons per annum, whereas energy planners (in the fourth Five Year Development Plan: 1989-1994) pointed at 10 million tons as the national production target.
The current production has jumped dramatically, recorded as 237 million tons in 2008 (predicted to achieve 270 million tons this year), making Indonesia a world class producer and the largest exporter of coal around the globe. The skyrocketing growth of our coal production has also incited many controversial issues.
Coal is considered as the dirtiest among fossil fuels, making environmentalists oppose their wide use
as fuel.
However, the proposal for ceasing use of coal — power generation, for instance — would be challenged by power utilities demanding low cost fuel that coal may offer and by the government, which has the responsibility to provide electricity as well as have revenue from exploiting its energy resources.
Despite the world’s rising anxiety of global warming, IEA (International Energy Agency: World Energy Outlook 2009) statistics shows that the world consumption for coal, for the last decade, is still growing the fastest among primary energy sources.
The environmental problem associated with coal in Indonesia is not limited to green houses gases (GHG), but also damage and pollution since its exploitation, transportation and uses to post mining.
It is easy to find where many coal fields are not mined appropriately according to “good mining and environmental practices”, coal transportation is not considering safety standards and is damaging rivers, (public) roads and seashores.
The coal mining has polluted the land, water and air of especially Kalimantan, where more than 90 percent of Indonesia’s coal mining operations take place.
It is sad that many of the previous mining areas have been abandoned without being properly reclaimed, whereas thousands of hectares of the island’s tropical forests have been converted into desert.
The soaring exploitation, including its negative impact on the environment, has a strong correlation with the number of licensing/permits awarded.
The introduction of the 1999 Regional Autonomy Law, subsequently followed by the 1999 Fiscal Balancing Law between the Central and Regional Governments have — to some degree — impacted on the coal licensing regime, where larger authorities had been given to regional/local governments.
Under the new licensing regime by local governments, requirements for coal permits tend to be relaxed whereas monitoring has not been done properly.
As a result, the number of permits (Mining Authorization/KP) has been growing considerably (currently 462, of which 169 are producing), coal production increases, but also environmental problems and the issues of illegal mining exist.
The question of who really owns the KP licenses exists, which was defined as that it can be owned by Indonesian national/companies only.
While the largest part of coal in Indonesia are being produced by large companies (the holders of Coal Contract of Work/PKP2B), some coal is mined by small scale and illegal miners.
It is believed that a significant amount of coal has been produced by illegal miners (some 5 million tons annually) and part has gone to meet export demand.
Wherever in the world, illegal miners lack interest in responsible mining and mine rehabilitation practices. Illegal mining is a problem for potential investors, the environment and government revenues.
The government has introduced measures to crack down on problems, including arresting illegal miners.
However, it cannot be the only solution since illegal mining is actually rooted in underemployment, local poverty and weak law enforcement, while the number of people involved in these activities is quite significant.
An alternative to confrontation to illegal miners by the central government (who awards the large scale PKP2B mining license) should be a cooperative and more comprehensive approach.
“Despite the world’s anxiety of global warming, IEA statistics shows that the world consumption for coal is still growing the fastest among primary energy sources.”
Work together with local/rural governments and communities to reduce poverty, educate/assist the illegal miners to increase their awareness on good mining practices (including mine rehabilitation), provide transition period fiscal incentives to encourage illegal mining toward the regulated mining sector, among others.
It needs to maintain an appropriate balance between the soaring exports of coal (about three quarters of production on average) and the domestic growing demand for the same fuel.
Push for exports is still coming largely from the traditional East Asians (Japan is the largest), while the coal-hungry India and China are also increasing their demand for our coal.
The exports will be competed with by the Blue Print for Energy Management 2005-2025 pointing out that one third of Indonesia’s energy primary energy mix in 2025 is to be supplied by coal, (the current share is about 15 percent).
Even though it is often mentioned that our coal reserves are quite large (current proven reserves of 5.5 billion tons; estimated resources of 105 tones) and that our reserves for coal are much larger than that of oil and gas, we should watch their fast rate of exploitation cautiously.
It needs to recalculate the benefit of exploiting them, taking into account their damage to the environment and what is left post mining. Where have all the revenues from exploiting that coal gone? Is the escalating export not jeopardizing the domestic energy security in the near future?
We have ample experiences, for instance in exploiting the resources-rich Kalimantan. The forests, oil and gas reserves have been exploited for about four to five decades, but it seems that the island has not enjoyed the fruits of the excessive exploitation: the current regional economy remains weak, infrastructure is poor and energy supplies for local uses have not been secured.
It needs to promote the terms “resources balance, depletion, sustainability”, start internalizing the costs of environmental impact and enforce those concepts into workable policies for our coal mining development.
The writer is the senior energy planner and an economist with the National Development Planning Agency. The opinions expressed are his own.
Source: The Jakarta Post ( Hanan Nugroho)
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Thursday, 03 November 11
DRY BULK MARKET OFFICIALLY IN THE RED ON LOWER CARGO DEMAND - NIKOS ROUSSANOGLOU, HELLENIC SHIPPING
The dry bulk market kept falling yesterday, on lower iron ore demand, which has caused the industry’s benchmark, the BDI (Baltic Dry Index) to ...
Wednesday, 02 November 11
MMTC TO BUY 3.73 MILLION TONS OF COAL FOR 2011- 2013
COALspot.com - India’s state-owned coal and mineral trader MMTC looking for 3.73 million tons of power plant coal for the period 2011 - 2012/ ...
Wednesday, 02 November 11
PANAMAX MARKET BECAME QUIETER AFTER THE RECENT RECOVERY - BRS
There were substantial losses across the board this week: the BDI lost 6.3% to end at 2,018 and the BCI 8.2% to end 3,274. In the smaller sizes the ...
Tuesday, 01 November 11
BORNEO LUMBUNG BUYS 23.8% INTEREST IN BUMI
COALspot.com - PT. Borneo Lumbung Energi (BORN), an Indonesian coking coal producer announces that it has signed a sale and purchase agreement, cond ...
Tuesday, 01 November 11
BAKRIE FORMS STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH BORNEO - REDUCING DEBT BY USD 1 BILLION
Press Release - Enhancing the standing of “Indonesia Inc.” at the London Stock Exchange PT Bakrie & Brothers Tbk (“BNBR” ...
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- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- MS Steel International - UAE
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- PTC India Limited - India
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- The Treasury - Australian Government
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- Parliament of New Zealand
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- The University of Queensland
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- VISA Power Limited - India
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- Planning Commission, India
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- Australian Coal Association
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- Minerals Council of Australia
- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- White Energy Company Limited
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- Economic Council, Georgia
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
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