Uncontrolled coal mining could shift Indonesia as importing country

The government warned that the massive and uncontrolled mining of coal could turn Indonesia ? home to the largest export coal ? to become importing country such as the case in oil, where Indonesia was previously a member of Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

?We hope it (the case of OPEC) would not happen to coal,? Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry?s director general for minerals and coal, Thamrin Sihite said, adding that currently some of 75 percent of the country?s coal output went export.

He said that upgrading quality of coal and boosting local demand could be options to prevent Indonesia from becoming an importing country of coal in the future.

Indonesia has withdrawn from OPEC and continued to rely on imported petroleum fuel, including to fire the country?s power generation plants. Transforming Indonesia from major energy exporter to energy importer have also forced the government to allot growing subsidies on energy.

Former lawmaker Sonny Keraf said that the government needed to reformulate the country?s energy mix policy to calculate the need of energy until the year of 2100 to ensure the energy security in the future. (adianto)