Heavy rain and rough seas in several parts of Indonesia, including the main Kalimantan coal-producing region, have resulted in a large build-up of vessels waiting to load coal cargoes. This is curbing supplies and offering support to prices.
As the nation prepares for the upcoming elections, issues relating to energy nationalism will spark debate among its supporters and detractors, especially after the government’s move to take control of copper miner Freeport Indonesia and the Rokan oil and gas block.
State-owned electricity firm PLN is set to acquire coal mines as part of its plan to secure 40 percent of the coal demand for its power grid – which last year absorbed 95 million tons of coal – by 2023.
There is still no certainty about the location of Freeport Indonesia’s smelter and funding sources for its construction.
Bulkers are facing “significant” delays in moving coal shipments out of a number of ports in Indonesia, according to Alphabulk, on the back of newly enforced insurance laws in the archipelago. The latest weekly report from Alphabulk, part of France’s AXS Marine, states that a “raft of ships” are being help up as Jakarta has forced coal exporters to use local insurers. Port authorities are checking exporters and vessels to see if the right insurance is in place leading to the delays.
Bangka and Belitung are the centers of Indonesia’s tin mining industry and one part, East Belitung, is hoping to trigger a boom in tourism related to that tin mining. It sounds like an excellent idea to be honest, Poldark has definitely worked in getting people to go to Cornwall now, hasn’t it?
Publicly listed nickel miner PT Vale Indonesia (INCO) confirmed on Thursday that the company had communicated with state mining holding company PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (Inalum) on the requirement for the former to sell 20 percent of its shares.
With this spring’s presidential and parliamentary elections are fast approaching, and a classic Indonesian pre-election syndrome that combines nationalism and populism has become widely apparent, we thought it was worth looking at the May Asia Coaltrans 2018 conference in Bali and the potential effects of Indonesia’s energy policy that remain badly analyzed. What was most striking about that gathering was how government and business leaders so vigorously embraced the notion of resource nationalism and a dangerous overreliance on the coal industry and state-owned enterprises.
Despite a move to renewable energy, particularly in Europe, demand for coal globally soared in 2018, led by low calorific value (CV) coal demand. The strongest import markets were China and India, while Indonesia performed extremely strongly on the supply side.
Research from Cardiff University and the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health has demonstrated that miners who are excluded from the decision-making process in regards to safety and health matters face disproportionate safety risks while at work.
