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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, 25 December 11
THERMAL COAL PRICES GAINED UP TO 4.32 PERCENT
COALspot.com - globalCOAL index gained 4.32 percent to US$106.36 per ton in RBCT, benchmark for South Asia and West Europe markets, for the week end ...
Saturday, 24 December 11
CHINAS LEVEL OF GROWTH TO DETERMINE COURSE OF DRY BULK MARKET IN 2012 SAYS SHIPBROKER - NIKOS ROUSSANOGLOU, HELLENIC SHIPPING
In its latest report, shipbroker Intermodal attempted to find a silver lining in the tough year that was 2011, as well as what one could expect from ...
Friday, 23 December 11
SPOT PACIFIC CAPESIZE VESSELS HAVE COMMANDED HIGH PREMIUMS - FEARNLEYS
Handy
Rates in the Atlantic kept stable from last week, with a touch of negativity closer to the end. Less spot cargoes seen, and owners are ...
Friday, 23 December 11
CONTENTIOUS ISSUES IN CONTRACT RENEGOTIATION - THE JAKARTA POST
The government has been renegotiating mining contracts, especially those 30-40 years old, with almost all mining companies, including PT Freeport In ...
Friday, 23 December 11
LANCO JOINS HANDS WITH BUKIT ASAM FOR INDONESIAN POWER PROJECT
COALspot.com - PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam, Indonesia's state owned coal miner and Indian based Lanco Infratech Ltd plans to build steam power p ...
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- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- Parliament of New Zealand
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- White Energy Company Limited
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- MS Steel International - UAE
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- Australian Coal Association
- Minerals Council of Australia
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- Planning Commission, India
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- Economic Council, Georgia
- PTC India Limited - India
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- VISA Power Limited - India
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
- The Treasury - Australian Government
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- The University of Queensland
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
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