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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, 07 August 10
INDIAN COAL IMPORTS WILL PLAY AN IMPORTANT PART IN KEEPING THE FREIGHT MARKET FIRM IN FUTURE - VISTAAR
COALspot.com: The freight market was volatile with market ending firmed and the BDI crossing 2000 points up by 3 pct, however the BCI was up by 14 p ...
Friday, 06 August 10
KRISHNAPATNAM PORT WINS NON MAJOR PORT AWARD 2ND TIME IN A ROW
COAlspot.com ( Press Release) Krishnapatnam Port, the world-class port on the Indian horizon, took the top honors for the second time in a row, in t ...
Friday, 06 August 10
POLANDS KOPEX GROUP DEVELOPS COAL MINE IN INDONESIA
Polishmarket reported that, Polish mining concern Kopex Group, , is to build the first in Indonesia mechanised underground coal mine. The group is c ...
Thursday, 05 August 10
MORATORIUM MAY HURT NEW PROJECTS: MINING GROUP
The government’s proposed two-year moratorium on issuing new concessions to convert forests and peatlands to other uses may hinder new mining ...
Thursday, 05 August 10
IRON ORE EXPORT BAN COMPOUNDS PROBLEMS OF INDUSTRY - BUSINESS STANDARD
Forex loss of Rs 300 crore (US$ 65.63 million) ; truckers, ports, Railways bear the brunt
The Karnataka government’s move to ban the export ...
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- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- MS Steel International - UAE
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- Economic Council, Georgia
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- Parliament of New Zealand
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- Australian Coal Association
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- PTC India Limited - India
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- Minerals Council of Australia
- Planning Commission, India
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- VISA Power Limited - India
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- White Energy Company Limited
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- The University of Queensland
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- The Treasury - Australian Government
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- Eastern Energy - Thailand
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