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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, 14 June 13
U.S. COAL PRODUCTION TOTALED APPROXIMATELY 18.20 MILLION SHORT TONS W/E 8 JUNE 2013
COALspot.com – United states the world’s second largest coal producer produced totaled approximately 18.20 million short tons (mmst) of ...
Thursday, 13 June 13
HANDY: SHORT PERIOD WERE FIXED AT AROUND USD 9000 LEVEL
Handy
Despite falling rates for bigger sizes, the Supras in Atlantic are seeing some improvements with fresh biz. US Gulf positions fetching tick a ...
Thursday, 13 June 13
BIMCO EXPECTS SUBDUED CAPESIZE EARNINGS FOR THE COMING WEEKS - HELLENIC SHIPPING NEWS
Bulk is not only about China even though it is a key driver. In this section, we have taken a closer look at the European seaborne coal markets, whi ...
Thursday, 13 June 13
RIO TINTO AGREES SALE OF EAGLE PROJECT FOR AN ESTIMATED US$325 MILLION IN CASH
COALspot.com - Rio Tinto has reached a binding agreement to sell its Eagle project to Lundin Mining Corporation for an estimated US$325 million in c ...
Thursday, 13 June 13
HARD COAL IMPORTS RISE SHARPLY IN GERMANY IN Q1 2013 - COAL IMPORTERS ASSOCIATION
Coal-fired Power Plants in Germany: Pillars of the Grid and the Energy Turnaround; Hard Coal Consumption and Hard Coal Imports Rise Sharply in Germa ...
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- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- White Energy Company Limited
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- The Treasury - Australian Government
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- Planning Commission, India
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- PTC India Limited - India
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- MS Steel International - UAE
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- The University of Queensland
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- Minerals Council of Australia
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
- Economic Council, Georgia
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- Australian Coal Association
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- VISA Power Limited - India
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- Parliament of New Zealand
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
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