The ministers involved in the supply of coal and LNG for supporting the national electricity supply should divide the tasksJakarta (ANTARA) - State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir called to accord priority to domestic energy requirements, such as for coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG), to facilitate smooth development.
"The ministers involved in the supply of coal and LNG for supporting the national electricity supply should divide the tasks. We will improve the long-term contract for supply needs in accordance with a joint meeting with the Attorney General's Office and the Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP). Domestic energy requirements should be increasingly prioritized for the sake of smooth development," Thohir noted in a statement here on Tuesday.
The minister drew attention to the government's prompt steps to address the problem of supplying coal and LNG, as an energy source, to support long-term national electricity supply.
In addition, logistics and infrastructure systems will be increasingly modernized, so that Indonesia, as a natural resource-producing country, will not experience uncertainty in meeting the energy requirements to support smooth development.
Thohir held a meeting with the energy and mineral resources (ESDM) minister, trade minister, transportation minister, Attorney General's Office, and BPKP, on Monday night (Jan 2).
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The meeting between the ministries and government Institutions was held after President Joko Widodo gave a briefing on priorities for ensuring fulfillment of domestic energy needs.
"In addition, we will improve the logistics system and infrastructure to ensure that domestic coal needs are met. According to the direction of the president, who has stressed on the commitment to replace coal with new and renewable energy in his interactions with the ranks of the Advanced Indonesia Cabinet, we have also prepared a road map on green economy development and energy transition as well as renewable energy," Thohir remarked.
Based on data from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, the coal production target in 2022 will be higher than that in 2021. The projected production target for 2022 lies in the range of 637 million to 664 million tons, while the coal production target for 2021 will reach 625 million tons.
Meanwhile, domestic coal demand is also forecast to increase to 190 million tons in 2022 as compared to this year's quota of domestic market obligation (DMO) that reached 137.5 million tons.
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Data from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources also revealed that natural phenomena, such as Hurricane La Nina that hit Kalimantan Island last November and led to increased rainfall, caused coal production until early December to reach 560 million tons, or some 89.6 percent of the target.
Meanwhile, domestic coal absorption until early December had only touched 121.3 million tons, or some 88.2 percent of the DMO target.
During the joint meeting, it was also agreed that the ESDM minister would issue changes to the DMO that could be reviewed monthly, and those failing to comply with the contract would be subject to high penalties and also have their licenses revoked.
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The joint meeting also supports the development of exports with the trade minister as a source of foreign exchange by computing the domestic needs.
With regard to the transportation minister, synergy will be conducted with the parties to handle logistics.
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Translator: Aji C, Azis Kurmala
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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