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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, 26 April 12
BUKIT ASAMS 1Q OPERATING PROFIT MARGIN HAS INCREASED BY 6% TO RP. 1 TRILLION
COALspot.com - PT. Bukit Asam (Persero), the Indonesia’s state owned coal miner's 1Q, 2012 revenue has increased by 31% to Rp. 3.02 trillion ...
Thursday, 26 April 12
TAIPOWER TO BUY 1.15 MILLION TONS OF 5000 GAR COAL
COALspot.com - Taiwan Power Company intends to procure 1.125million tons of sub-bituminous coal for Taipower thermal power plant through open tender ...
Thursday, 26 April 12
TAIPOWER TO BUY 375,000 MT OF 4800 GAR COAL
COALspot.com - Taiwan Power Company intends to procure 375,000 metric tons of low sulfur sub-bituminous coal for Taipower thermal power plant ...
Thursday, 26 April 12
ADK SHIPPED 28,000 TONNES OF COAL THIS MONTH
COALspot.com - Orpheus Energy (ASX:OEG) has announced that four coal barges carrying a total of approximately 28,000 tonnes of ADK (Alam Duta K ...
Thursday, 26 April 12
DRY BULK CARRIERS RENTER FLEET AFTER IDLING, ON MARKETS RECOVERY - NIKOS ROUSSANOGLOU, HELLENIC SHIPPING
The dry bulk market seems to be back on track, not only solidifying the gains of the past couple of weeks, but also racing to new heights, recuperra ...
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- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- VISA Power Limited - India
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- Minerals Council of Australia
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- PTC India Limited - India
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- The University of Queensland
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- The Treasury - Australian Government
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- Planning Commission, India
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- Parliament of New Zealand
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- MS Steel International - UAE
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- White Energy Company Limited
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- Economic Council, Georgia
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- Australian Coal Association
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
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