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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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Wednesday, 27 June 12
DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF MINERAL AND COAL OF INDONESIA INTRODUCES ON-LINE SYSTEM FOR MINING PRODUCTS EXPORT APPROVAL
COALspot.com - Directorate General of Mineral and Coal of Indonesia has released "Clear and Clean" certificate for another 33 coal miners ...
Monday, 25 June 12
RIO TINTO MAKES FIRST COAL SHIPMENT FROM MOZAMBIQUE
Rio Tinto has started exporting premium hard coking coal from its Benga Mine in the Moatize Basin in Mozambique. The first shipment of 34,000 tonnes ...
Sunday, 24 June 12
SUPRAMAX FREIGHT MARKET FIRMED UP FROM INDONESIA TO INDIA - VISTAAR
COALspot.com - This week all the segments gained and marked was firm in the Supramax and Handy size sector, where as the Cape and Panamax inde ...
Saturday, 23 June 12
COAL PRICES APPETITE FOR ROLLER-COASTER RIDES
COALspot.com - SGX AsiaClear OTC Coal Swaps have suffered something of a roller-coaster ride in terms of prices during this week. SGX’s Indone ...
Friday, 22 June 12
PRESENT SPOT WEAKNESS IS TEMPORARY, SEASONAL AND RISE AS WINTER APPROACHES - BUMI
COALspot.com - PT Bumi Resources Tbk, the world’s one of the largest coal producer and Indonesia’s largest multi grade coal miner has no ...
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- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- Economic Council, Georgia
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- MS Steel International - UAE
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- The Treasury - Australian Government
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- Parliament of New Zealand
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- VISA Power Limited - India
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- Minerals Council of Australia
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- Planning Commission, India
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- Australian Coal Association
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- White Energy Company Limited
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- The University of Queensland
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- PTC India Limited - India
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
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