We welcome article submissions from experts in the areas of coal, mining,
shipping, etc.
To Submit your article please click here.
|
|
|
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)
If you believe an article violates your rights or the rights of others, please contact us.
|
|
Wednesday, 12 March 14
DRY BULK VESSELS STILL THE CREAM OF THE CROP FOR SHIP OWNERS
Dry bulk carriers have remained the most popular vessel type among ship owners as proven by the sheer number of second hand vessel sales and new ...
Tuesday, 11 March 14
HOLD HARMLESS CLAUSES ARE NOT ALWAYS MUTUAL! - ITIC
KNOWLEDGE TO ELEVATE
ITIC provides an insurance related contract review service to all of its members. As the leading professional indemnity i ...
Tuesday, 11 March 14
NEWCASTLE SHIPPED 6.98% LESS COAL WEEK ON WEEK
COALspot.com: In the week ended 10 March 2014, power plant and semi-soft coking coal shipments from the port of Newcastle in Queensland, total 2 ...
Tuesday, 11 March 14
INDONESIAN SUB-BITUMINOUS COAL SWAPS CONTINUES TO FALL
COALspot.com – Indonesia, the world’s largest exporter of the thermal coal's swaps for delivery April - June 2014 slip again thi ...
Monday, 10 March 14
API 8 CFR SOUTH CHINA COAL SWAPS LOST 4.28 PERCENT MONTH ON MONTH FOR Q2 DELIVERY
COALspot.com: API 8 CFR South China Coal swaps for average Q2 14 deliveries lost 4.28 percent month on month and closed at US$ 73.97 per mt as on Fr ...
|
|
|
Showing 3806 to 3810 news of total 6871 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
 |
|
|
| |
|
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- MS Steel International - UAE
- Australian Coal Association
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- PTC India Limited - India
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- The University of Queensland
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- Planning Commission, India
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- VISA Power Limited - India
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- Minerals Council of Australia
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- White Energy Company Limited
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- Economic Council, Georgia
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- Parliament of New Zealand
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- The Treasury - Australian Government
- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
|
| |
| |
|
