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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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Wednesday, 07 January 15
FUEL EFFICIENT SHIPS MAKE LESS SENSE IN LOWER BUNKER PRICE MARKET, BUT FUEL COSTS ARE BOUND TO RISE AGAIN
The shipping industry entered 2015 on mixed emotions, as a relatively buoyant tanker market is met by a rather lackluster dry bulk market. Still, a ...
Wednesday, 07 January 15
2015 IS RIDDLED WITH CHALLENGES FOR THE SHIPPING SECTOR, MOST NOTABLY THE DRY BULK MARKET - HELLENIC SHIPPING NEWS
As the new year has now set foot for real, many are still looking to detect what’s in store for the various shipping markets, with the first ...
Tuesday, 06 January 15
SHIPPING MUST ADOPT CAN-DO ATTITUDE IN 2015 - MOORE STEPHENS
Shipping needs to adopt a can-do attitude in order to successfully meet the challenges which are likely to come its way in 2015.
Shipping part ...
Tuesday, 06 January 15
Q4' 15 FOB INDONESIA COAL SWAP CLOSED 1.81% HIGHER COMPARED TO Q1' 15 CLOSING
COALspot.com: Indonesian coal swaps for delivery Q1' 2015 lost month on month and week over week.
The Q1 swap has lost US$ 0.74 (-1.51%) m ...
Tuesday, 06 January 15
FOB RICHARDS BAY COAL SWAPS LOST W-O-W AND M-O-M, SGX DATA SHOWS
COALspot.com: API 4 FOB Richards Bay Coal for delivery Q1' 2015 lost month on month and week over week.
The Q1 swap has lost US$ 3.52 (-5. ...
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- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
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- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
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- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
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- CNBM International Corporation - China
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- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
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- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- Minerals Council of Australia
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- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- The Treasury - Australian Government
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
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- VISA Power Limited - India
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- Parliament of New Zealand
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- The University of Queensland
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- Australian Coal Association
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- PTC India Limited - India
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- Economic Council, Georgia
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- MS Steel International - UAE
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- Planning Commission, India
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- White Energy Company Limited
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
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