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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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Tuesday, 29 November 11
DRY BULK MARKET BEGINS WEEK ON HIGHER NOTE - NIKOS ROUSSANOGLOU, HELLENIC SHIPPING
Contrary to what had been the case during the past few weeks, this one began on a high note for the dry bulk market, with the Capesize sector pullin ...
Monday, 28 November 11
CITING CONTRACTS, MINING FIRMS ARE NOT PAYING ROYALTIES UNDER LAW - THE JAKARTA POST
The Jakarta Post reported that, when the 2009 Law on Minerals and Coal was endorsed, hopes that Indonesia could maximize its revenue from the minera ...
Monday, 28 November 11
NEW ENVIRONMENTAL MARINE REGULATIONS TO IMPACT SHIPPING IN 2012 - NIKOS ROUSSANOGLOU, HELLENIC SHIPPING
August of next year will see some major changes for marine navigation. It’s when the North American ECA will come into force, introducing a 1% ...
Sunday, 27 November 11
INDIA'S KPCL TO IMPORT 50 MMT OF COAL FOR 10 YEARS
COALspot.com - Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) will buy 5 million metric tonnes of coal annually for 10 years starting from 2015.
In a ...
Saturday, 26 November 11
INDIAN PORTS ARE BECOME COAL STOCKPILES..!!
COALspot.com - The Indian coal stocks and power tariff situation is the hot topic among the world coal producers as well as Indian coal importers.&n ...
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- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- The University of Queensland
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- Planning Commission, India
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- MS Steel International - UAE
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- The Treasury - Australian Government
- Parliament of New Zealand
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- Economic Council, Georgia
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- PTC India Limited - India
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
- Minerals Council of Australia
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- Australian Coal Association
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- VISA Power Limited - India
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- White Energy Company Limited
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