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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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Saturday, 27 February 21
CHINA'S BENCHMARK POWER COAL PRICE EDGES DOWN - XINHUA
China’s benchmark power coal price dropped slightly during the past week.
The Bohai-Rim Steam-Coal Price Index (BSPI), a gauge ...
Saturday, 27 February 21
FITCH RATINGS REVISES GLOBAL METALS AND MINING PRICE ASSUMPTIONS
Fitch Ratings has revised some of its metals and mining price assumptions as prices for many commodities will benefit in the short term from return ...
Saturday, 27 February 21
MITSUBISHI PULLS OUT OF VINH TAN 3 COAL PROJECT IN VIETNAM - NIKKEI ASIA
Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corp. decided Thursday to withdraw from the Vinh Tan 3 coal-fired power plant project in Vietnam amid growing int ...
Thursday, 25 February 21
ARE WE ON THE CUSP OF ANOTHER MINING SUPER-CYCLE? - WOOD MACKENZIE
As the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic began to bite, many observers confidently predicted that the end was nigh for global economic activit ...
Thursday, 25 February 21
2020 PROVED TO BE A TRULY TERRIBLE YEAR FOR SEABORNE COAL TRADE - BANCHERO COSTA
Total loadings in the 12 months of 2020 were down -12.7% year-on-year to 1,130 million tonnes, according to vessels tracking data from Refinitiv, s ...
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- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- MS Steel International - UAE
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- Minerals Council of Australia
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- VISA Power Limited - India
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- The Treasury - Australian Government
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- Australian Coal Association
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- PTC India Limited - India
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- Planning Commission, India
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- White Energy Company Limited
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- Parliament of New Zealand
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- Economic Council, Georgia
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- The University of Queensland
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
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