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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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Thursday, 14 March 13
DRY BULK MARKET KEEPS ON RISING MOMENTUM - NIKOS ROUSSANOGLOU, HELLENIC SHIPPING NEWS
The dry bulk market has maintained its rising momentum, on the back of increased cargo availability. According to yesterday's figures, the industry ...
Thursday, 14 March 13
SHIPPERS AND CARRIERS NEED GREATER COMMUNICATION AND MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING
Press Release – Shippers and shipping lines both need to raise their game if global container supply chains are not to be habitually subject t ...
Wednesday, 13 March 13
NEWBUILDING PRICES EXHIBIT NO FALL IN PAST SIX MONTHS - NIKOS ROUSSANOGLOU, HELLENIC SHIPPING
Despite the fact that oversupply has been the key plague of the shipping markets in recent years and newbuilding ordering activity has receded subst ...
Tuesday, 12 March 13
COAL MINING PRIVATIZATION IN INDIA: MUST - SUNIL K KUMBHAT
COALspot.com - India has the one of the richest coal reserves in the world and the country should have shown significant progress and gained the pos ...
Tuesday, 12 March 13
NEWCASTLE PORT SHIPPED 2.47 MILLION TONS OF COAL W/E 11 MARCH 2013
COALspot.com - Newcastle port in Australia has loaded 2,471,080 MT of thermal and coking coal for week ended 0700 hours 11 March 2013, Newcast ...
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- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- Parliament of New Zealand
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- PTC India Limited - India
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- Planning Commission, India
- The Treasury - Australian Government
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- Australian Coal Association
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- Economic Council, Georgia
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- VISA Power Limited - India
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- The University of Queensland
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- White Energy Company Limited
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- Minerals Council of Australia
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- MS Steel International - UAE
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