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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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Friday, 28 August 15
DRY BULK SHIP OWNER OPTIMISTIC ABOUT FUTURE PROSPECTS OF THE MARKET: NIKOS ROUSSANOGLOU, HELLENIC SHIPPING NEWS
Dry bulk ship owner Golden Ocean appeared optimistic on the long term prospects of the dry bulk market, mainly thanks to an expected resolution of ...
Friday, 28 August 15
COAL PRODUCTION IN THE U.S. FOR THE WEEK ENDING AUGUST 22 ROSE FOR THE THIRD STRAIGHT WEEK
COALspot.com – United States the world’s second largest coal producer has produced approximately totaled an estimated 18.5 million shor ...
Friday, 28 August 15
BANPU STRENGTHENS GROWTH PLAN
Coal Business: Asia-Pacific Synergies Increase Competitiveness for Premium Export Market.
Banpu Public Company Limited (BANPU) strengthens its ...
Thursday, 27 August 15
RATES FOR CAPES REMAINED ON A FREE FALL LAST WEEK - INTERMODAL
COALspot.com: Keeping everyone on their toes with the volatility seen in August, the Dry Bulk market undoubtedly remains a steady provider of chall ...
Wednesday, 26 August 15
MARKET INSIGHT - STRATOS TINIAKOS
It’s always interesting to comment on the market when big economies around the world are facing troubling times. Following the collapse of th ...
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- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- MS Steel International - UAE
- Minerals Council of Australia
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- Economic Council, Georgia
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- Australian Coal Association
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- Planning Commission, India
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- PTC India Limited - India
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- Parliament of New Zealand
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- White Energy Company Limited
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- The University of Queensland
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- The Treasury - Australian Government
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- VISA Power Limited - India
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
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