Australia Newcastle coal vessel queue renews 2020 high
The vessel queue outside Australia's Newcastle port has hit a new 2020 high of 27, following extreme weather, a damaged shiploader and as unionised tug workers stepped up industrial action.
The queue grew from 24 last week and eight two months earlier, after a heat wave and strong winds battered the New South Wales port over the weekend. Temperatures reached 40֯C on 29 Sunday and 38֯C on Saturday and were accompanied by extreme winds, which slowed work at the port including repair work on the Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group (NCIG) shiploader that was damaged by storms on 16 November.
NCIG operates berths K8, K9 and K10 at the Kooragang Island terminal in Newcastle. But is still only shipping from K8 and K9, while it works to rectify the problems with the shiploader. There are no vessels booked to leave from K10 before 14 December at the earliest. NCIG declined to comment on when the shiploader will be back in operation.
Initial shipping data suggests that NCIG has shipped less coal in November than in October, which was the weakest shipping month for the terminals since February.
The unionised tug crew operating the nine Svitzer vessels at Newcastle initiated an overtime ban from the morning of 30 November, following two four-hour strikes on 25 November. The stoppages are part of industrial action by the Maritime Union of Australia and the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union against Svitzer, which the unions accuse of using Covid-19 to change their members' working conditions. The overtime ban will apply to all Svitzer locations, including the smaller coal ports of Port Kembla and Brisbane.
Thermal coal prices ticked up last week, despite the Chinese import ban on Australian coal, as concerns grew about Newcastle's capacity to deliver shipments.
Argus last assessed high-grade Australian thermal coal at $65.11/t fob Newcastle for NAR 6,000 kcal/kg on 27 November, up from $59.38/t on 20 November and from a recent low of $46.18/t on 4 September. It assessed lower grade coal at $42.04/t fob Newcastle for NAR 5,500 kcal/kg on 27 November, up from $37.66/t on 20 November and $35.04/t on 4 September.
NCIG has a nominal capacity of 66mn t/yr and plans to expand to 79mn t/yr. It operated at an annualised rate of 57mn t/yr in November last year, which means that it has some capacity to manage the disruption from the shiploader disruption.
UK-Australian resources firm BHP owns 28pc of NCIG, Australian coal producer Whitehaven owns 26pc, China's Yancoal owns 27pc, US energy firm Peabody 10pc and Thai power firm Banpu 9pc. Banpu also owns Australian thermal coal producer Centennial.
Related news posts
Baltimore opens third temporary shipping channel
Baltimore opens third temporary shipping channel
New York, 22 April (Argus) — A third temporary shipping channel has opened at the Port of Baltimore to allow more vessel traffic around the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge. Located on the northeast side of the main channel, the new passage has a controlling depth of 20-ft, a 300-ft horizontal clearance, and a vertical clearance of 135-ft. When combined with two other temporary channels opened earlier this month the port should be able to handle "... approximately 15 percent of pre-collapse commercial activity," said David O'Connell, the federal on-scene coordinator. The main shipping channel of the Port of Baltimore — a key conduit for US vehicle imports and coal exports — is expected to be reopened by the end of May, the Maryland Port Administration said earlier this month. The bridge collapsed into the water late last month when the 116,851dwt container ship Dali lost power and crashed into one of its support columns. Salvage teams have been working ever since to remove debris from the water and containers from the ship in order to clear the main channel. By Stephen Cunningham Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Coal sales at Australia’s Whitehaven fall in Jan-Mar
Coal sales at Australia’s Whitehaven fall in Jan-Mar
Sydney, 19 April (Argus) — Australian coal miner Whitehaven reported higher production but lower sales in January-March, with the firm increasing its percentage of high-grade thermal coal sales from the previous quarter. Saleable coal volumes rose by 8pc on the year to 3.9mn t but managed coal sales fell by 7pc to 3.8mn t compared to a year earlier. Sales were 83pc high-grade thermal, higher than 72pc in October-December and 68pc a year earlier. Whitehaven said run-of-mine production at Narrabri was below expectations because of the current panel's geological challenges, leading to reliability and maintenance problems with equipment. Whitehaven's overall sales guidance for the 2023-24 fiscal year remains unchanged at 16mn-17.5mn t for 2023-24 with a unit cost guidance, excluding royalties, of A$103-113/t ($66-$72/t) which the firm said is tracking at the top end. This is because of lower output from Narrabri, which is tracking below its output guidance of 5.1mn-5.7mn t for the fiscal year to 30 June. Whitehaven finalised takeovers of Australian-Japanese joint venture BHP Mitsubishi Alliance's (BMA) 12mn t/yr Blackwater and 4mn t/yr Daunia coking and thermal coal mine in Queensland on 2 April, with initial sales and production data to be reported in its April-June production report. The two mines are anticipated to deliver 4.5mn-5mn t run-of-mine output in April-June, with Whitehaven's revenue breakdown to be 70pc metallurgical and 30pc thermal on an annual basis post-acquisition as it seeks to pivot toward coking coal. Blackwater and Daunia contributed 10.11mn t and 4mn t respectively to BMA's total output in 2023. Whitehaven plans to sell down a 20pc stake in Blackwater to global steel producers, with a process presently underway. Whitehaven views the high calorific value (CV) thermal coal market as well supported in its key Asian markets, and said tightening of sanctions on Russian exporters is containing global supply. India's continuing growth is driving demand and underpinning price sentiment, Whitehaven said, despite a softening in metallurgical coal prices during the quarter . The Argus high-grade 6,000 kcal/kg NAR price averaged $126.74/t fob Newcastle and the 5,500 kcal/kg NAR coal price $93.85/t during January-March, compared with $134.23/t and $96.80/t respectively for October-December. By Tom Major Whitehaven quarterly results Jan-Mar '24 Oct-Dec '23 Jan-Mar '23 Volumes (mn t) Managed coal production 3.9 4.2 3.6 Managed coal sales 3.8 4.7 4.1 Managed coal stocks at period end 1 1.5 1.5 Coal sales mix (%) High-grade thermal coal 83 72 68 Other thermal coal 8 19 26 Metallurgical coal 9 9 6 Prices achieved ($/t) 136 142 280 Thermal coal 136 142 280 Metallurgical coal 213 166 234 Source: Whitehaven Australian coal price comparisons ($/t) Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Australia’s Queensland legislates emissions targets
Australia’s Queensland legislates emissions targets
Sydney, 18 April (Argus) — Australia's Queensland state today approved two separate laws setting renewable energy and emissions reduction targets over the next decade, as it transitions away from a coal-fired dependent power generation system. Queensland set net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets of 30pc below 2005 levels by 2030, 75pc by 2035 and zero by 2050 under the Clean Economy Jobs Act, while theEnergy (Renewable Transformation and Jobs) Act sets renewable energy targets of 50pc by 2030, 70pc by 2032 and 80pc by 2035. The state is on track to surpass the 2030 emissions target, latest data show, as it achieved a 29pc reduction in 2021. Even though the share of renewables in the power mix last year was the lowest across Australia at 26.9pc, it has been increasing consistently since 2015 when it was 4.5pc, according to data from the National Electricity Market's OpenNem website. Coal-fired generation has been steadily falling, down to 42.9TWh or a 65.7pc share in 2023 from 52.9TWh or 83pc in 2018. Most of Queensland's coal-fired plants belong to state-owned utilities, which the previous Labor party-led government of Annastacia Palaszczuk indicated would stop burning coal by 2035 . The new Labor party premier Steven Miles disclosed the 75pc emissions reduction target by 2035 in his first speech as leader last December. The Energy Act locks in public ownership of electricity assets, ensuring that at least 54pc of power generation assets above 30MW remain under state control, as well as 100pc of all transmission and distribution assets and 100pc of so-called "deep storage" assets — pumped hydro plants with at least 1.5GW of capacity. The government will need to prepare and publish a public ownership strategy for the July 2025-June 2030 and July 2030-June 2035 periods. A fund totalling A$150mn ($97mn) will also be set up to ensure workers at existing state-owned coal-fired power plants and associated coal mines have access to new jobs and training or financial assistance during the transition. The Clean Economy Jobs Act sees the government receiving advice from an expert panel on the measures needed to reduce emissions. The government will need to develop and publish sector plans by the end of 2025 with annual progress reports to Queensland's parliament. By Juan Weik Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
BHP cuts Australian met coal sales guidance again
BHP cuts Australian met coal sales guidance again
Sydney, 18 April (Argus) — Australian mining firm BHP has cut its coking coal guidance for the 2023-24 fiscal year to 30 June to a new decade-low of 43mn-45mn t because of the impact of wet weather and cyclones on its Queensland operations. The BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA), which is 50pc owned by BHP and 50pc by Japanese trading house Mitsubishi, had already cut its guidance by 18pc in January to 46mn-50mn t of metallurgical coal for 2023-24, down from the previous guidance of 56mn-62mn t issued in July. At that time it cited the impact of the sale of the Blackwater and Daunia coking and thermal coal mines in Queensland to Australian independent Whitehaven, which it completed on 2 April, maintenance, a fatality at its 10mn t/yr Saraji mine and increased removal of waste. The latest downgrade was blamed again on the Saraji incident, as well as on wet cyclonic weather in Queensland and an inventory rebuild after the impact of flooding and labour shortages in 2022 and 2023. The inventory rebuild will continue into calendar year 2025, which could further weigh on sales into 2024-25. The further reduction in expected sales volumes led BHP to increase its cost guidance for 2023-24 to $119-125/t from $110-116/t in January and from $95-105/t in June. BHP received an average price of $274.99/t for hard coking coal and $204.55/t for weak coking coal during July-December, up from $242.52/t and $190.74/t for January-June and $270.65/t and $252.12/t in July-December 2022. It defines hard coking coal as those with a coke strength after reaction (CSR) of 35 and above, with weak coking coal being those with a CSR of below 35. Argus last assessed the premium hard low-volatile metallurgical coal price at $249/t fob Australia on 17 March, down from $336.50/t on 17 January. By Jo Clarke BHP metallurgical coal sales (mn t) Jan-Mar '24 Oct-Dec '23 Jan-Mar '23 Jul-Mar '23-24 July-Mar '22-23 Coking coal 5.41 4.76 5.37 14.66 16.86 Weak coking coal 0.93 0.75 0.71 2.21 2.04 Thermal coal 0.02 0.20 0.10 0.52 0.80 Total BMA 6.36 5.71 6.19 17.39 19.70 Total BMA (100%) 12.72 11.41 12.37 34.78 39.39 Source: BHP Australian metallurgical coal prices ($/t) Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Business intelligence reports
Get concise, trustworthy and unbiased analysis of the latest trends and developments in oil and energy markets. These reports are specially created for decision makers who don’t have time to track markets day-by-day, minute-by-minute.
Learn more