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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, 08 August 14
CAPESIZE RATES ARE REMAINING MORE OR LESS UNCHANGED AT BOTTOM LOW LEVELS - FEARNLEYS AS
Handy
An improving sentiment with stronger rates and fair demand for prompt tonnage in the Atlantic, both on the Continent and in the Med for the ...
Friday, 08 August 14
U.S PRODUCED 35.80 MMST OF COAL IN JULY; UP 7.89 MONTH OVER MONTH
COALspot.com – United States the world's second largest coal producer, produced approximately 19.50 million short tons (mmst) of coal in ...
Friday, 08 August 14
PORT OF NEWCASTLE SHIPPED 19.52% MORE COAL IN JULY FROM LAST MONTH
COALspot.com: The Port of Newcastle, Australia’s major trading ports and the world’s largest coal export port, has shipped 14,036,947 t ...
Thursday, 07 August 14
SHORT-TERM COAL OUTLOOK IMPROVES - SAM QUEST
With demand for and supply of coal to grow in the near future, prices are expected to rebound in the short term; the long-term prospects, however, ...
Thursday, 07 August 14
BULKING UP IN AFRICA: CHINA INFLATES SEABORNE MINERALS EXPORT TRADE - RICHARD SCOTT
Africa’s profile as an exporter of dry bulk commodities is rising. Responding to growing import demand from China, India and other buyers in ...
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- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- PTC India Limited - India
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- Australian Coal Association
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- Parliament of New Zealand
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- The University of Queensland
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- Minerals Council of Australia
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- White Energy Company Limited
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- Economic Council, Georgia
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- The Treasury - Australian Government
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- Planning Commission, India
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- MS Steel International - UAE
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- VISA Power Limited - India
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
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