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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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Sunday, 29 September 13
SUB-BIT INDONESIA COAL SWAP FELL ON MONTH AND WEEK
COALspot.com – Sub-Bit Indonesia coal swap (FOB ) for average Q4 2013 delivery fell 3.93 percept month on month on Friday 27 September 2 ...
Friday, 27 September 13
TAIWAN'S FORMOSA TO IMPORT 140K MT OF BITUMINOUS COAL FOR Q4
COALspot.com : Taiwan's Formosa Plastics Group is inviting bids for 140,000 mt of bituminous coal for delivery in the Q4 for its China plant.
Ac ...
Friday, 27 September 13
CAPESIZES REGAINING PART OF THEIR FORMER GLORY - NIKOS ROUSSANOGLOU, HELLENIC SHIPPING NEWS
The latest dry bulk market rally has been nothing short of spectacular, with freight rates more than doubling over the past few weeks. This growth h ...
Friday, 27 September 13
US PRODUCED 19.30 MMST OF COAL IN SEVEN DAYS
COALspot.com – United States the world’s second largest coal producer produced approximately 19.30 million short tons (mmst) of coal in ...
Thursday, 26 September 13
PANAMAX MARKET CONTINUE WITH STRONG RATES IN BOTH BASINS - FEARNRESEARCH
Handy
Feast rates are still firm, some fresh stems entered the market. Vessels trading around $15k passing Singapore for coal to India, and a bit l ...
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- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- MS Steel International - UAE
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- Economic Council, Georgia
- VISA Power Limited - India
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- PTC India Limited - India
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- The University of Queensland
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- The Treasury - Australian Government
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- Australian Coal Association
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- Minerals Council of Australia
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- Parliament of New Zealand
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- White Energy Company Limited
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- Planning Commission, India
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
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