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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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Friday, 26 August 11
INTRACO EYES US$200 MIO COAL TAKEOVER - INSIDER STORIES
Heavy equipment distributor PT Intraco Penta Tbk, that was founded by Halex Halim, is scouting a coal acquisition with the valuation above US$200 mi ...
Thursday, 25 August 11
OPG EXPECTS COAL PRICES TO REMAIN FIRM IN THE SHORT TERM
COALspot.com - Revenue of OPG, the developer and operator of Group Captive power plants in India up 188% to £33.15m and Income from continuing ...
Thursday, 25 August 11
PAITON POWER LOOKING FOR 3.96 MILLION TONS OF COAL
COALspot.com - PT Pembangkit Jawa Bali (PJB) is looking for 3.96 million tons coal with calorific value 4,800 kcal/kg on as received basis. Accordin ...
Tuesday, 23 August 11
ICMA CALLS GOVERNMENT TO REVIEW EXPORT BAN REGULATION
COALspot.com - Chairman of the Indonesian Coal Mining Association (ICMA) Bob Kamandanu asks the government to review the regulation that being draft ...
Tuesday, 23 August 11
ADARO ENERGY ACQUIRES 75% STAKE OF PT MUSTIKA INDAH PERMAI FOR US$ 222.5 MILLION
COALspot.com - PT Alam Tri Abadi, a wholly owned subsidiary of PT Adaro Energy Tbk, signed a share purchase agreement to acquire a 75% stake of PT M ...
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- The Treasury - Australian Government
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- The University of Queensland
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- Economic Council, Georgia
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- Planning Commission, India
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- Parliament of New Zealand
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- PTC India Limited - India
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- White Energy Company Limited
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- Minerals Council of Australia
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- VISA Power Limited - India
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- Australian Coal Association
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- MS Steel International - UAE
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
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