Adani raises coal output at Australia’s Carmichael mine
Indian conglomerate Adani raised thermal coal output at its Carmichael mine in Australia during April-June compared with a year earlier.
The company produced 3.2mn t of coal during the quarter, up by over 21pc compared with last year's corresponding quarter. It sold 2.8mn t of coal in the quarter, up by 16pc from a year earlier.
Carmichael produced 11.2mn t of coal during India's fiscal year from April 2023-March 2024, compared with 7.7mn t in 2022-23, the first full year of operations. Sales grew to 11.2mn t last year, up from 7.3mn t a year earlier.
Adani aims to ramp output from this mine to 14mn-15mn t in 2024-25. It shipped the first cargo from Carmichael in January 2022, after missing its initial target of shipping first coal in 2021.
Carmichael is around 500km inland from the Abbot Point coal port, which is also owned by Adani. Carmichael coal has an average calorific value of around NAR 4,950 kcal/kg, lower than the standard 5,500-6,000 kcal/kg produced in Australia's Hunter valley and Bowen basin. Argus assessed Australian NAR 5,500 kcal/kg coal at $87.80/t fob Newcastle on 2 August.
Adani's IRM division, the largest Indian thermal coal importer and trading firm, handled less coal during April-June compared with a year earlier. Volumes for the quarter were 15.4mn t, down by 13pc from a year earlier. It was also lower by almost 38pc from 24.7mn t during January-March.
The firm's coal-trading business primarily caters to the requirements of Indian private-sector, central and state government-owned utilities. It participates as a bidder in tenders issued by these utilities from time to time.
India's thermal coal imports rose in June from a year earlier, in line with an increase in coal-fired generation to cater for the rise in power demand during the peak summer period.
The south Asian country imported 14.09mn t of thermal coal in June, up by 4.2pc from a year earlier, according to data from shipbroker Interocean. But imports fell from 16.70mn t in May. Imports during January-June were up at 89.64mn t, from 81.13mn t in the same period a year earlier.
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China to develop 1.28bn t/yr of coal capacity: GEM
China to develop 1.28bn t/yr of coal capacity: GEM
London, 11 September (Argus) — China's coal output capacity could rise by up to 1.28bn t/yr based on the number of mines under development in the country, a report from US-based Global Energy Monitor (GEM) says. Capacity of 450mn t/yr is already under construction, and this is expected to lead to a surge in Chinese coal production in three to five years. Proposed Chinese mining capacity stands at 1.16bn t/yr, primarily made up of projects designed to produce at least 1mn t/yr, data from GEM's Global Coal Mine Tracker show. When combined with previously proposed projects and a lower capacity threshold of 600,000 t/yr, this totals 1.28bn t/yr of capacity under development in 14 Chinese provinces. The country's development pipeline accounts for almost half the proposed coal capacity globally, and more than double India's planned capacity for large-scale coal mines, which GEM classifies as being of 1mn t/yr or higher. And almost 80pc of China's proposed mines are greenfield developments, indicating a strong industry push to establish new operations, and implying that China's growing dependency on coal is unlikely to slow. China, the world's largest producer and consumer of coal, produced a record 4.66bn t last year, figures from the country's statistics bureau show. This accounted for over half last year's global coal production of 8.97bn t, also a record, according to GEM data. Large-scale coal mines make up a significant majority of China's coal production, with around 3.88bn t/yr of its operational capacity coming from these mines. This is equivalent to nearly half the global total from similar large-scale mines, and is almost double the combined output from India, Indonesia, and Australia — the world's next three biggest coal producers. New mines threaten China's climate goals GEM says China's push to increase coal production "starkly contrasts" with the country's carbon neutrality targets, adding credence to the IEA's recent claim that coal market developments, particularly in India and China, are at odds with climate pledges made at UN summits. Increased methane emissions from these new mines — coupled with abandoned coal mine methane from the accelerating closure of small-scale operations — pose significant risks to China's climate objectives of having emissions peak before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality before 2060, as committed to under the Paris climate agreement, according to GEM. Although short-lived in the atmosphere, methane is more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas and has driven about a third of the rise in global temperatures since the Industrial Revolution. China's existing mines emit 52.73bn m³/yr of methane, accounting for 70pc of global coal mine methane emissions from large mines. If all of its proposed projects are completed, and without robust mitigation, GEM estimates that this figure will rise to 75pc. Although China's national climate plan has not been renewed since 2021, the government is expected to heighten its ambitions in a new plan by the start of 2025. The country has admitted that its heavy dependence on coal is straining its environmental goals. But the country's huge nuclear fleet and significant renewables additions have been unable to erode demand for coal-fired generation. Although solar and hydropower output rose in the first half of 2024, China's coal-fired generation also increased by 1.5pc on the year to 3,000TWh, Argus data show. By Bryan Wu Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Port of NOLA to close prior to TS Francine
Port of NOLA to close prior to TS Francine
Houston, 10 September (Argus) — The port of New Orleans (Nola) in Louisiana and terminal operators there are limiting operations today in preparation for a full closure Wednesday as tropical storm Francine passes. Terminal operators are expected to reopen on 12 September after damages are assessed. United Bulk Terminals (UBT) issued a force majeure this morning from the Davant terminal on concerns for employee safety. The company did not disclose a timeline for reopening. UBT specializes in coal and petcoke along with other commodities. Associated Terminals will suspend operations 11-12 September and will assess damages on 13 September. The National Weather Service forecasts Francine to make landfall tomorrow on the Louisiana coast as a hurricane. Commodities including petcoke, coal, agriculture and fertilizer are likely to be affected by the port closure. By Meghan Yoyotte Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Australia’s Newcastle coal ship queue eases
Australia’s Newcastle coal ship queue eases
Sydney, 10 September (Argus) — The shipping queue outside the key Australian coal port of Newcastle shrunk to 22 on 9 September from a two-year high of 41 vessels on 5 August, as throughput at the Port Waratah Coal Service (PWCS) terminals hit a seven-month high in August. The PWCS terminals' shipments rose to 9.09mn t in August from 8.61mn t in July and from 7.6mn t in August 2023, according to PWCS data. This is the most shipped in a calendar month since January. The average vessel turnaround time in August at PWCS eased to 6.95 days from 7.38 days in July but was up from 2.17 days in August 2023. There was a major rail maintenance programme over 3-6 August with none planned for September and the next during 1-4 October. Newcastle Coal Infrastructure (NCIG) does not release data for its terminal at Newcastle, while the Port Authority of New South Wales has not yet released overall data for August. Newcastle shipped 11.96mn t in July, down from 12.28mn t in June. This implies that NCIG shipped 3.35mn t in August, which is the least it has shipped since August 2024 when it also shipped 3.35mn t. Newcastle shipped 85.16mn t during January-July, up from 81.34mn t for January-July 2023, according to port data. By Jo Clarke PWCS coal loading data Aug '24 Jul '24 Aug '23 Jan-Jul '24* Jan- Jul '23* PWCS loadings (mn t) 9.09 8.61 7.60 65.48 60.52 PWCS stocks (mn t) 1.28 2.25 1.39 1.54 1.45 PWCS turnaround time (days) 6.95 7.38 2.17 4.95 2.26 Newcastle ship queue (vessels) 22 41 14 23 11 Source: PWCS * PWCS loadings is a total YTD, all others are average per month YTD Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Coal loses ground in Brazil's energy mix
Coal loses ground in Brazil's energy mix
Rio de Janeiro, 9 September (Argus) — Brazil's recently launched national energy transition policy barely mentions coal, highlighting the steady decrease of its usage in the country, slipping to just 4.4pc of Brazil's energy mix in 2023, according to energy research firm EPE. Since 2014, Brazilian coal usage has declined steadily, losing 5.7 percentage points of its share of the energy mix. From 2022 to 2023 coal usage fell by 5pc, according to the latest national energy balance report. Brazil's total energy consumption in 2023 grew by 3.5pc from the previous year, reaching 282.5mn metric tonnes of oil equivalent (mtoe). The industrial sector was responsible for 31.8pc of all energy consumption in 2023. Sugarcane bagasse is the sector's main energy source, with a more than a 20pc share. But 11.6pc of Brazil's steel sector still uses coking coal as a feedstock, although that fell by 5pc from the previous year. Natural gas has averaged a 10.4pc share of industrial energy demand over the past 20 years, oscillating between 8.8-11.4pc, according to EPE data, and reached 9.5 in 2023. Overall, renewable energy sources account for 49pc of the Brazilian energy mix, against a worldwide average of 15pc, according to the International Energy Agency data. Brazil's new energy transition policy will involve a flurry of renewable sources, such as wind, solar, hydro, biomass, biodiesel, ethanol, green diesel, carbon capture and storage, sustainable aviation fuel and green hydrogen, mines and energy minister Alexandre Silveira said. By Betina Moura Brazilian industrial energy sources, 2023 pc Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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