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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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Thursday, 12 February 15
DRY BULK OWNERS SCRAP MORE VESSELS, AS MARKET REACHES HISTORICAL LOWS - NIKOS ROUSSANOGLOU, HELLENIC SHIPPING
The dry bulk market has reached historical lows this week, with the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) now trading at levels below operating expense levels for ...
Thursday, 12 February 15
INDONESIAN COAL PRICE REFERENCE INCHED DOWN 1.44% IN FEBRUARY
COALspot.com - The Ministry of Energy & Mineral Resources of Indonesia revised down Indonesian coal bench mark price this month to US$ 62.92 pe ...
Thursday, 12 February 15
NEWBUILDING ORDERING ACTIVITY DRAGS ON, AS OWNERS ARE LOOKING FOR LOWER PRICES - NIKOS ROUSSANOGLOU, HELLENIC SHIPPING
Ship owners appear to be waiting for lower prices in their dealings with Asian shipyards, as the dry bulk market is at historical lows. According t ...
Wednesday, 11 February 15
DRY BULK MARKET REMAINED UNDER PRESSURE : STABILIZING CAPE MARKET HARDLY HELPED SENTIMENT
COALspot.com: The Dry Bulk market remained under pressure last week, while the stabilizing Cape market hardly helped sentiment.
Greece based s ...
Wednesday, 11 February 15
BDI HITTING THE ALL-TIME LOW; FFA MARKETS NOT SHOWING ANY POSITIVE SIGNS
With the BDI hitting the all-time low and with FFA markets not showing any positive signs for a possible recovery in the near future, pessimism is ...
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- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- Australian Coal Association
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- Parliament of New Zealand
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- The University of Queensland
- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- Economic Council, Georgia
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- VISA Power Limited - India
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- MS Steel International - UAE
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- White Energy Company Limited
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- Planning Commission, India
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- Minerals Council of Australia
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- The Treasury - Australian Government
- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- PTC India Limited - India
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
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