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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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Monday, 26 July 10
CEMENT MAKERS EXPLORE NEW FUELS TO REPLACE COAL - ECONOMIC TIMES
Economic Times reported that, As the cement industry reels under high raw material costs and reduced coal linkages, companies are exploring alternat ...
Saturday, 24 July 10
INDONESIAS BUKIT ASAM H1 2010, SALES RAISED 10% TO 6.44 MILLION TONS
COALspot.com: PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam (PTBA), Indonesian state owned mining company’s H1 2010, sales raised 10% to 6.44 million tons. T ...
Saturday, 24 July 10
INDONESIAN COAL MINERS ARE REQUIRED TO SUPPLY 64.96 MLN TONS OF COAL TO DOMESTIC MARKET IN 2010
COALspot.com : Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources of Indonesia has issued a ministerial degree related to Domestic market obligation (DMO) for ...
Saturday, 24 July 10
THE BDI SEEMS TO BE RECOVERING AND WAS UP BY ABOUT 6 PCT - CAPT. REDDY
COALspot.com: "The BDI seems to be recovering and was up by about 6 pct this week after losing for almost last 7 weeks", said Capt. Reddy, ...
Saturday, 24 July 10
ANALYSIS - GROWTH IN VESSEL SUPPLY PRESSURES OCEAN FREIGHT RATES
It's common to use global shipping rate trends as a proxy of global economic health. If demand for goods and raw materials are strong, so should it ...
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- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- The University of Queensland
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- The Treasury - Australian Government
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- Australian Coal Association
- PTC India Limited - India
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- MS Steel International - UAE
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- White Energy Company Limited
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- Minerals Council of Australia
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- Planning Commission, India
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- Economic Council, Georgia
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- Parliament of New Zealand
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- VISA Power Limited - India
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
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