Sunday 6 February 2011

STATE ELECTRICITY COMPANY (PLN) CAN GENERATE AROUND 2000 MW OF POWER FROM CMB GAS

The Government is deleloping CBM as among the alternative energies found in great volumes in coal mining sites like South Kalimatan, East Kalimantan and South Sumatra.

CBM is deleloped as alternative source of cheaper and more efficient primary energy whereby the Government may use to enhance efforts to electrify remote villages which are beyond PLN’s network. The development of CBM’s potential is also in line with PLN’s plan to enhance power generating by changing from oil energy to gas.

In the effort to enhance efficiency in power generating, PLN is ready to use power generated by CBM developer, particulary in the effort to support the Government in electricity procurement plan or remote villages.

The Govertnment has appointed one undertaker, i.e. Exxon Mobil to carry out intial study and survey for CBM development potentianls in Kalimantan as coal producing zone. It is expected of this potential development of CBM would be known.

It is expected that the initial study of CBM potentials would help to create a promising business climatewhereby by investors would be enthusiastic about developing CBM potentials for power generating. Target is set that within 5 years Indonesia would be able to produce 500 mmscfd CBM estimated to generate 2,000 MW of electricity. In advanced stated like Australia, the CBM potentials had been developed to a great extend.

The development of Coalbed Methane (CBM)in Indonesia is carried uot by Government’s policy stipulated by the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources as break tjrough effort in response to slump of oil production in Indonesia. CBM is a natural gas with dominating metana gas in addition to other hydro-carbon contained in coal, resulting from some chemical and physics process.

CBM is the same as the conventional natural gas known today; the difference is that CBM associates with coal as source of rock and reservoir while the gas known today, although some originate from coal, are produced from reservoirs of sand, gamping or fragments of frozen stones.

Other things which differentiate the two are the ways of development where CBM reservoir has to be engineered first before gas is produced. Apart from chemical process CBM can be formed from activities of metanogenic bacteris in water which is trapped in coal, especially lignit.

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