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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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Saturday, 08 January 11
DIFFICULT YEAR FOR SHIPPING - TRANSPORT WEEKLY
Transport Weekly reported that, Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) chairman Sabyasachi Hajara says 2011 will be a difficult year because an excess ...
Saturday, 08 January 11
AUSTRALIAN FLOODS MAY BOOST RIS COAL SALES - THE JAKARTA POST
The Jakarta Post reported that, Floods inundating Queensland have disrupted Australian coal production, and in turn may offer opportunities for Indo ...
Saturday, 08 January 11
GOVERNMENT REMAINS CAUTIOUS OVER FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN MINING SECTOR - THE JAKARTA GLOBE
The Jakarta Globe reported that, The government expects $3.2 billion of investment to flow into the mining sector this year as foreign investors tur ...
Friday, 07 January 11
14 LARGE-SCALE COAL BASES TO BE BUILT DURING 12TH FIVE-YEAR PLAN - GLOBAL TIMES
During the Twelfth Five-Year Plan period (2011-2015), China aims to build 14 large-scale coal bases, and annex and restructure 20 coal bases in orde ...
Friday, 07 January 11
JSW ENERGY LTD OF INDIA IS LOOKING FOR 45 MILLION TONS OF STEAM COAL FOR 25 YEARS
COALspot.com - Supply of 1.80 mmt (+/- 10%) of steam coal per annum for power plants at Toranagallu and Jaigad.
Accordign to JSWE's websit ...
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- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- The Treasury - Australian Government
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- The University of Queensland
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- White Energy Company Limited
- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- Minerals Council of Australia
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- MS Steel International - UAE
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- Planning Commission, India
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- Australian Coal Association
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- VISA Power Limited - India
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- Economic Council, Georgia
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- Parliament of New Zealand
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- PTC India Limited - India
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
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