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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 February 21
FY21 COAL DEMAND MAY BE LOWER THAN PREVIOUSLY ESTIMATED DUE TO COVID-19: PRALHAD JOSHI - PTI
Coal demand in the current fiscal may be lower than the initial estimate of 1,085 million tonnes (MT) due to the impact of COVID-19, Parliament was ...
Wednesday, 10 February 21
MARKET INSIGHT - INTERMODAL
We have just entered February, Chinese New Year holidays are about to start and the SnP market for bulkers is so hot as every seller would dream of ...
Tuesday, 09 February 21
SWITCHING COAL PLANTS TO PLN'S BIOMASS COFIRING PLAN IS NO MAGIC BULLET - IEEFA
Implementation risks for Indonesia PLN's switch from coal to biomass cofiring
PLN’s biomass cofiring plan will require not ...
Friday, 05 February 21
THE INDONESIA COAL PRICE REFERENCE FOR FEBRUARY 2021 SETTLES AT US$ 87.79 PER TON FOB VESSEL
COALspot.com: The Indonesia coal price reference for February 2021 settles at US$ 87.79 per ton FOB vessel. The February reference price is the hig ...
Thursday, 04 February 21
WHY BANGLADESH SHOULDN’T COUNT ON A FOSSIL FUEL FUTURE - IEEFA
Around US$50 billion of LNG projects in Asia at risk of cancellation
Two astonishing figures have circulated in the Asian energy sector in the ...
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- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- White Energy Company Limited
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- The Treasury - Australian Government
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- Economic Council, Georgia
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- The University of Queensland
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- PTC India Limited - India
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- Minerals Council of Australia
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- MS Steel International - UAE
- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- VISA Power Limited - India
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- Parliament of New Zealand
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- Planning Commission, India
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- Australian Coal Association
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
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