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Wednesday, 23 July 14
HARD COAL 2013: THE WORLD'S SECOND-MOST IMPORTANT ENERGY SOURCE AND GUARANTOR FOR THE SECURITY OF ENERGY SUPPLIES DURING TIMES OF CRISIS
 Hard coal is again in 2013 the fastest-growing fossil primary energy source in the world. As shown in the BP Statistical Review 2014, it covered about 30% of the world’s demand for primary energy of 12.7 billion TOE (tonnes of oil equivalent).
According to the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), coal, which has a share of 56% of the reserves and about 89% of the resources of all fossil primary energy sources, has the greatest potential among all of the non-renewable energy sources and has been declared to be the most important energy source.
Hard coal is also broadly distributed over many regions, and calculations by the VDKi based on today’s quantities, prices, and costs indicate that there are sufficient quantities to last for at least another 110 years. Even if a significant coal-exporting country were to prohibit the export of coal tomorrow (speaking theoretically), producing countries on other continents would be able to compensate the loss without any problems.
The VDKi would like to call attention to the fact that the debate on the security of supply has become one-sided and closely focused on securing supply using primary energy sources tied to pipelines. The primary topic is the security of our electric power supply. Coal has a number of advantages in this respect. In contrast to renewable energies, it is available at all times. Moreover, it is not tied to pipeline facilities, can be stockpiled as an energy source right at power plant sites, is found all around the world, and there are many and varied means of transport across both the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans.
Global hard coal consumption rises by 3%
According to initial estimates by BP in its Statistical Review 2014, global energy consumption of 12.7bn TOE (= tonne oil equivalent = 1 tonne OE = oil equivalent = 1.43 TCE) in 2013 rose by a little less than 2.3% in comparison with 2012 (12.5bn TOE). The background to this development is the low or non-existent growth in many OECD countries such as in Europe and Japan (with the exception of the USA). Coal consumption continued to increase in China (+4.4%) and India (+3.8%), on the other hand, although growth was more moderate than in previous years.
Coal consumption once again posted the strongest rise. In comparison with 2012, there was growth of 3%. The decline in coal consumption in the USA by 11.9% in 2012 was followed by growth of 4.3% in 2013. In terms of the average growth rates of 3.5% over the past five years, coal is and remains the Number 1 source of primary energy in the 21st century and has been the second-most important source of primary energy in the world since 2012, surpassed only by oil.
Estimates by the EU Commission indicate that total primary energy consumption in Europe declined by 0.6% (98m TOE) to 1.49bn TOE. The initial estimates indicate that there has been virtually no change in the mix of primary energy sources used for electric power generation in the EU 28. Hard coal and lignite together maintained their share of 27%, while hard coal alone posted a share of 19% in spite of the massive expansion of renewable energies. However, hard coal output in Europe declined by 15m tonnes to 114m tonnes. On the other hand, hard coal imports to the EU 28 rose by 3m tonnes (+1.4%) to 216m tonnes.
Seaborne world trade in steam coal grows by 6% World trade in hard coal totalling 1,237m tonnes in 2013 represented an increase of 73m tonnes (about 6%) in comparison with the previous year. Seaborne and internal trade posted the following development: in 2013, seaborne trade rose by 60m tonnes to 1,142m tonnes (= +5.5%), while internal trade increased by 18m tonnes (= +16%) to 95m tonnes. The steam coal market grew by 4% (37m tonnes) to a total of 863m tonnes.
Projections from the IEA show that the demand for coal will grow worldwide by an average of 2.3% p.a. over the coming years.
Preliminary calculations by the VDKi for the first four months of 2014 indicate that the seaborne hard coal market worldwide grew by just under 3% (10m tonnes) in comparison with the same period of the previous year.
Coking coal market grows by 9%
Worldwide crude steel production in 2013 reached the level of 1,607m tonnes, a new record. The increase by 3.5% (59m tonnes) occurred mainly in Asia (+6%) and in the Middle East (+2.5%). Crude steel production in Europe, North and South America, Russia and Korea declined by between 1.8% and 4.4%. Pig iron production, the decisive factor for the consumption of coking coal, PCI coal and coke, rose by 52m tonnes (about 5%) to 1,164m tonnes. The coking coal market increased correspondingly by 23m tonnes (+9%) to 279m tonnes.
With the exception of Australia, there were no fundamental changes in the supplier structure. Australia’s market share increased by another 8 percentage points and has now reached the mark of 61%. The USA again lost market share to Australia and now holds a share of 20%.
Hard coal and coke imports to Germany rise by 10%, hard coal consumption increases by 4%
The demand for domestic German and imported hard coal rose by 2.4m TCE (4.1%) to almost 61m TCE in 2013. About 86% of the demand for hard coal was covered by imports; domestic coal today covers only about 14%. Total imports of hard coal and coke reached a new record level of 52.8m tonnes in 2013, an increase by 4.9m tonnes (10%) over 2012.
Most of the hard coal sales go to power plants as the dominant buyers (71%; previous year 66%) and the iron and steel industry (26%; previous year 30%); the heating market (4%) plays only a subordinate role. The import demand for steam coal was covered primarily by Russia, the USA and Colombia, while the primary supplier countries for coking coal were Australia (45%) and the USA (30%).
Power generation from hard coal-fired power plants rose substantially in 2013 thanks to the favourable price situation in comparison with gas and the low CO2 certificate prices in European emission trading. Hard coal-fired power plants supplied 124 TWh of electric power, about 8 TWh (6.5%) more than in the past year, giving hard coal a share of more than 19% in the energy mix in 2013.
The balance in power exchange (total exports less imports) in 2013 amounted to about 34 TWh, an increase of 46% over 2012.
The price advantage of coal over gas (difference between the so-called clean dark spread less clean spark spread) in recent years has fluctuated between €-15 and €-25 per MWh. However, this difference favouring hard coal must not be allowed to obscure the fact that the revenues from power generation are inadequate because of the artificially low prices on the EEX and their unfair competitive advantage created by the priority given to feed-in of renewable energies.
A German hard coal-fired power plant has generation costs of between €50/MWH and €60/MWh, depending on its age. At the moment, however, it receives only about €35/MWh for the generated base load, i.e. it can usually achieve only very low contribution margins, if any at all, with the consequence that power revenues fall far short of covering the total operating costs.
This has prompted Dr Wolfgang Cieslik, VDKi CEO, to call on politicians for action:
“We urgently need a form of regulation which will guarantee hard coal-fired power plants a return to profitability in the long term as well because this is the only course which can guarantee the security and profitability of power supply and the successful realisation of the energy turnaround.”
Despite the increase in steam coal imports of 3.3% in Q1 2014, the VDKi estimates that only 37m tonnes of steam coal and 51m tonnes of hard coal and coke in total will be imported during all of 2014.
Price developments: A surplus in supply meets moderate demand
Developments in which a worldwide surplus in the supply of coal runs into demand which is not growing fast enough began in 2011, and the trend continued in 2013. Prices remained under pressure in 2013 as a result. From October 2013 to today (beginning of July 2014) alone, prices for steam coal fell from US$89/tonne to US$72/tonne, about 20%. The same is true of coking coal prices. Both coking coal and coke prices declined in 2013 because of the general slump in demand accompanied by a simultaneous expansion in supply.
While prices between US$160 and US$165/tonne were still being paid for coking coal at the beginning of 2013, this level had decreased to US$138/tonne by the end of 2013. This development continues to hold sway in 2014; as of the middle of 2014, spot prices for HCC quality had fallen to US$116/tonne.
- German Coal Importer Association -
About the German Coal Importer Association
The Verein der Kohlenimporteure e.V. (VDKi) is the lobby organisation for the hard coal import market in Germany. Its German and European members come from the sectors power, industry, trade and logistics. The Association currently has 78 members who consume about 70% of the German demand for hard coal of approximately 61 million tonnes in their facilities. The VDKi clearly represents the major part of the hard coal market (German domestic and imported hard coal) in Germany.
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Wednesday, 02 July 14
HANDY BULKERS PROVE TO BE THE MOST SOUGHT AFTER VESSELS OVER THE PAST WEEK - NIKOS ROUSSANOGLOU, HELLENIC SHIPPING NEWS
The Handy dry bulker proved to be the most sought after ship by ship owners active in the second hand market, which saw a slight decline in terms o ...
Wednesday, 02 July 14
SHIPPING: MARKET INSIGHT - GEORGE DERMATIS
After 6 months, 57 ministerial meetings and 67 political agreements, the journey of the Greek Presidency in the EU reached its end yesterday; only ...
Tuesday, 01 July 14
INDIAN POWER PLANT COAL STOCKPILES VERY LOW
COALspot.com: According to today's Weekly Dry Bulk Report published by Commodore Research, Indian power plant coal stockpiles have now fallen t ...
Monday, 30 June 14
SUB-BIT FOB INDONESIA COAL PRICES ARE STILL STRUGGLING TO RECOVER
COALspot.com: Indonesian coal swaps for average Q3’ 2014 lost on week and on month according to AsiaClear OTC coal swap's reports release ...
Monday, 30 June 14
WEEKLY CFR SOUTH CHINA COAL SWAPS DECLINE CONTINUES; Q1'15 LOST US$ 4.55 PMT IN A WEEK
COALspot.com: API 8 CFR South China Coal swap for delivery in Q3 fell US$ 5.25 month on month on Friday, dipping under $69 a tone. The CFR South Ch ...
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Showing 3631 to 3635 news of total 6871 |
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- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- Minerals Council of Australia
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- Parliament of New Zealand
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- Australian Coal Association
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- White Energy Company Limited
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- Planning Commission, India
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- MS Steel International - UAE
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- Economic Council, Georgia
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- The University of Queensland
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- PTC India Limited - India
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- VISA Power Limited - India
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- The Treasury - Australian Government
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
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