Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – China is now starting to do everything possible to get out of the power crisis. The government led by Xi Jinping is now asking energy companies to ensure the safety of fuel supplies, especially ahead of winter.
Energy companies are also asked to do everything possible to supply their energy.
A Bloomberg News report on Friday (1/10/2021), citing an unnamed source, reported that Deputy Premier Han Zheng asked energy companies to ensure there was enough fuel to keep the country running.
“China will not tolerate a blackout,” the report said, as quoted by AFP.
As is known, China was hit by a power outage that closed some factories, hitting production and global supply chains. More than a dozen provinces and territories have been forced to impose energy use restrictions in recent months.
The crisis was caused by a variety of factors including increased overseas demand when the economy reopens, record coal prices, limited coal supply, state electricity price controls, and carbon emission reduction targets.
Nearly 60% of China’s economy is powered by coal, but the world’s largest coal supply has been disrupted by the pandemic, raised safety standards by a series of mining accidents and strained by a trade dispute with Australia.
A senior official in China’s northeastern Jilin province urged authorities to try to get more coal from Mongolia, Russia and Indonesia to address the coal supply gap.
For Indonesia, of course, this will be a blessing because it can increase coal exports to this Bamboo Curtain country.
Moreover, at the beginning of the year the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) has increased the production quota by 75 million tons to 625 million tons from the initial plan of 550 million tons. The additional production quota can be fully intended for export.
So, how much does Indonesia usually export coal to China? Citing the Handbook of Energy and Economic Statistics of Indonesia 2020, Indonesia’s largest coal exports are indeed to China, followed by India and Japan.
In 2020, Indonesia’s coal exports to China will reach 127.78 million tons or around 31.5% of the total national coal exports which reached 405.05 million tons. Meanwhile, exports to India reached 97.51 million tons and to Japan 26.97 million tons.
The highest Indonesian coal exports to China occurred in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world, reaching 144.41 million tons.
The following is the trend of Indonesian coal exports to China since 2014:
2014: 67.81 million tons
2015: 41.89 million tons
2016: 53.88 million tons
2017: 51.20 million tons
2018: 63.43 million tons
2019: 144.41 million tons
2020: 127.78 million tons.
(wia)
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