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Thursday, 26 November 20
DECLINE IN COAL EXPORTS ADDS TO NAVAJO-OWNED COMPANY'S PROBLEMS - IEEFA U.S.
Weak demand and low prices are likely creating steep losses for NTEC
U.S. coal exports to Asia—once heralded as the saving grace for struggling coal producers in the western United States—are facing new strains from low prices and weak demand in the wake of the global COVID-19 crisis.
In its third-quarter financial statement released earlier this month, Westshore Terminals in British Columbia, the primary terminal for U.S. thermal coal bound for the Pacific Rim of Asia, reported a 47% quarter-over-quarter drop in thermal coal exports. Quarterly thermal coal shipments from the terminal fell to their lowest level since 2016, when global coal markets were overwhelmed by a massive supply glut that sent seaborne coal prices crashing.
Even though the Westshore terminal is in Canada, virtually all of its shipments of thermal coal—the type burned in power plants—come from U.S. mines, mostly located in Montana. Data from the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration suggest that Montana’s Spring Creek mine, owned by the Navajo Transitional Energy Company (NTEC), bore the brunt of the decline. Coal production at Spring Creek totaled 2.2 million tons during the third quarter of 2020, down from about 3.9 million tons during the year-ago quarter. On an annualized basis, Spring Creek production has now fallen to its lowest level since 2003 (See Figure 1).
Meanwhile, production at the Signal Peak mine, the other major U.S. thermal coal exporter that ships through Westshore, held roughly steady compared to the year-ago quarter. (Signal Peak has been in the news for other reasons, having to do with a fraud and embezzlement scheme perpetrated by former executives. Signal Peak is partially owned by FirstEnergy, also in the news for fraud allegations.) Westshore doesn’t disclose its customer volumes, but Signal Peak’s relatively stable production during the quarter suggests that NTEC’s Spring Creek mine accounted for the bulk of the decline in thermal coal exports through Westshore.
In a related wrinkle, Westshore reported that it took in “$2.6 million [Canadian] of customer shortfall payments” from July through September. This means that at least one of the terminal’s shippers is paying penalties for shipping less coal than promised.
If last quarter’s shortfall payments are indeed coming from NTEC, the company is probably paying even more in penalties to BNSF, the rail company that moves Spring Creek coal to Westshore. (Documents from the 2019 bankruptcy filing of Cloud Peak Energy, the previous owner of the mine, suggest the company paid a little over $25 per ton in rail fees, more than twice as much as Westshore charges to ship a ton of coal.)
Cloud Peak shelled out millions of dollars in such payments to both BNSF and Westshore during times of low international prices, and—ironically enough—frequently shipped coal at a loss to avoid even steeper losses from contractual penalties.
NTEC touted its purchase in 2019 of Powder River Basin mines as a “prudent investment,” pointing to a study (commissioned by the company itself) arguing that Spring Creek exports held the “potential for high profitability.” Yet Cloud Peak had also had made big bets on Spring Creek exports—and those bets helped cement the company’s financial collapse.
Now, NTEC’s gamble on coal exports is backfiring—just as it backfired on Cloud Peak.
This will only worsen difficulties for NTEC, which has recently agreed to an ill-advised expansion of its stake in the aging coal-fired Four Corners power plant in New Mexico and whose core business—coal production for the domestic electricity industry—is in severe decline, and not just because of COVID but because utility companies continue to aggressively abandon coal for cheaper and more modern forms of generation.
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Wednesday, 10 April 19
KOSPO INVITED BIDS FOR 160K MT OF MIN. 3700 NCV COAL FOR JUNE LOADING
COALspot.com: South Korea state-owned utility Korea Southern Power Co. Ltd (KOSPO) issued a tender for 160,000 MT of min. 3,800 Kcal/kg ~max.4,100 ...
Wednesday, 10 April 19
CHINA'S GROWING THERMAL COAL SUPPLY TO PRESSURE EXPORTERS - FITCH RATINGS
Growing Chinese thermal coal supply is likely to lead to further tightening of import controls by the government, putting pressure on seaborne coal ...
Wednesday, 10 April 19
SHIPPING MARKET INSIGHT - INTERMODAL
The tragedy in Brazil’s Vale Brumadinho where a tailings dam collapsed in January ranks among the world’s worst mining disasters. It co ...
Monday, 08 April 19
5TH INDIA NUCLEAR NEW BUILD CONGRESS 2019
5th India Nuclear New Build Congress 2019
The congress in Mumbai aims to bring together representatives from governments, regulators ...
Monday, 08 April 19
THERMAL COAL PRICES FALL, INDIAN POWER PLANTS TO SEE LIMITED GAINS - BUSINESS STANDARD
Thermal coal prices are on a downward spiral globally. Australian coal prices have fallen nearly 20 per cent in the past week, and 40 per cent from ...
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- London Commodity Brokers - England
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- The University of Queensland
- Parliament of New Zealand
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- Minerals Council of Australia
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- Economic Council, Georgia
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- The Treasury - Australian Government
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
- Australian Coal Association
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- MS Steel International - UAE
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- PTC India Limited - India
- White Energy Company Limited
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- Planning Commission, India
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- VISA Power Limited - India
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
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