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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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Wednesday, 06 April 11
FORBES & MANHATTAN COAL ANNOUNCES SIGNIFICANT OFF TAKE AGREEMENT
Steady Cash Flow Will Fund Production Ramp Up
Forbes & Manhattan Coal Corp., ("Forbes Coal" or the "Company") is a produc ...
Tuesday, 05 April 11
DRY BULK MARKET DOWN ON FIRST DAY OF SECOND QUARTER - NIKOS ROUSSANOGLOU, HELLENIC SHIPPING
The dry bulk market began the second quarter on a downward pattern, with the industry’s benchmark, the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) shedding 1.45 pe ...
Monday, 04 April 11
INDONESIA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE FOCUS ON INDONESIA'S ECONOMY (IICFIE) 2011 MASTER PLAN TO ACCELERATE THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Press Release - Since couple of years, Indonesia's economy show impressive growth. What is the Indonesia's Economic Corridor and the Master plan t ...
Saturday, 02 April 11
TNPL CALLS FOR 160KT OF NON-COKING COAL
COALspot.com - Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Limited (TNPL), is seeking to procure another 160,000 MT +/- 5 percent of Non-Coking imported C ...
Saturday, 02 April 11
THE FREIGHT MARKETS LIKELY TO BE SOFT NEXT WEEK - VISTAAR SINGAPORE
COALspot.com - The freight market softened this week affecting all sectors with BDI down by 65 points (down by 4.10 pct) and closed at 1,520 points. ...
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- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- Australian Coal Association
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- Economic Council, Georgia
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- MS Steel International - UAE
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- The University of Queensland
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- The Treasury - Australian Government
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- Parliament of New Zealand
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- White Energy Company Limited
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- Minerals Council of Australia
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- PTC India Limited - India
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- Planning Commission, India
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- VISA Power Limited - India
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
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