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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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Tuesday, 25 May 10
BUMPER YEAR PREDICTED FOR INDONESIAN COAL - THE JAKARTA GLOBE
The Jakarta globe reported that, In The country’s coal output may reach 320 million tons this year, up from 300 million tons in 2009, as produ ...
Tuesday, 25 May 10
CHINA'S COAL SHIPMENTS VIA ITS MAIN PORTS RISE BY 13.1 PERCENT IN APRIL
According to the data issued by China's Ministry of Industry and Information on May 21, in April total coal shipments via China's main ports reach ...
Monday, 24 May 10
SAMTAN TO SELL KIDECO TO INDIKA ENERGY?
Insider Stories reported that, Parent company of Indonesia's coal mining contractor PT Petrosea Tbk (PTRO), PT Indika Energy Tbk (INDY) aims to boo ...
Monday, 24 May 10
INDIA'S ESSAR SHIPPING BEGIN COMMERCIAL OPERATIONS OF BULK TERMINAL AT HAZIRA
COALspot.com: Essar Shipping Ports & Logistics Ltd. commences commercial operations of Essar Bulk Terminal at Hazira, one of India's largest dr ...
Monday, 24 May 10
INDONESIAN COAL PRICE REFERENCE (HBA) FOR MAY 2010 REACHES US$ 92.07 PER TON FOB VESSEL
COALspot.com: The directorate general of mineral, coal and geothermal of Indonesia has released Indonesian coal price reference (HBA) for Month of M ...
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- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- VISA Power Limited - India
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- PTC India Limited - India
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
- Australian Coal Association
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- The Treasury - Australian Government
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- Minerals Council of Australia
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- Economic Council, Georgia
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- The University of Queensland
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- Planning Commission, India
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- Parliament of New Zealand
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- White Energy Company Limited
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- MS Steel International - UAE
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
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