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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, 05 September 14
U.S. PRODUCED 19.2 MMST OF COAL LAST WEEK
COALspot.com – United States the world's second largest coal producer, produced approximately 19.20 million short tons (mmst) of coal in ...
Thursday, 04 September 14
PUNJAB STATE POWER CORPORATION LIMITED OF INDIA HAS DECIDED TO BUY IMPORTED COAL - HINDUSTAN TIMES
COALspot.com: The Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has decided to buy imported coal to run its thermal plants, as reported by Hindust ...
Thursday, 04 September 14
INDONESIAN COAL MINERS MAY GET MORE TIME ON ROYALTIES - FITCH RATINGS
COALspot.com: Fitch Ratings says that coal miners in Indonesia are likely to get more time to repay the government the royalties that were set off ...
Thursday, 04 September 14
INDONESIAN COAL SWAPS SLIDE THIS PAST WEEK
COALspot.com: Indonesian coal swaps for average October 2014 decreased US$ 0.90 (-1.68%) day on day and US$ 1.80 (-3.31%) per mt week on week. The ...
Thursday, 04 September 14
CAPESIZE : SENTIMENT REMAINS POSITIVE FOR Q3/Q4 - FEARNRESEARCH
Handy
The Atlantic market has experienced more activity this week. Rates for TA´s are up about 8% w-o-w, much lead by an increasing number ...
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- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- The University of Queensland
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- The Treasury - Australian Government
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
- Economic Council, Georgia
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- Planning Commission, India
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- Parliament of New Zealand
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- MS Steel International - UAE
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- White Energy Company Limited
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- Australian Coal Association
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- VISA Power Limited - India
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- PTC India Limited - India
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- Minerals Council of Australia
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