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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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Tuesday, 29 September 20
CHINA TAIYUAN COAL TRANSACTION PRICE INDEX UP 0.73 PCT - XINHUA
China Taiyuan coal transaction price index stood at 125.91 points Monday, up 0.73 percent week on week.
The index, released by China ...
Tuesday, 29 September 20
SHIPPING MARKET - ALLIED
Here we are, just a short breath before the final quarter of the year, and many are now debating to what extent we can really expect a firm dry bul ...
Tuesday, 29 September 20
INDONESIAN COAL COMPANIES' EARNINGS TO WEAKEN IN 2H20 - FITCH RATINGS
Rated Indonesian coal miners and contractors will have weaker operating and financial performances in the second half of 2020 than in the first, sa ...
Tuesday, 29 September 20
RUSSIA'S COAL PRODUCTION TO DROP BY 10.5% IN 2020, SAYS MINISTRY - TASS
Russia’s Economic Development Ministry projects a 10.5% decrease in coal production in the country in 2020 compared with last year to 395 mln ...
Monday, 28 September 20
NEW LNG PROJECTS - ALL DRESSED UP AND NO PLACE TO GO - WOOD MACKENZIE
It was meant to be another boom year. After a record 70 mmtpa of new LNG capacity was sanctioned in 2019, at least as much capacity was lined up fo ...
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- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- Planning Commission, India
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- Parliament of New Zealand
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- White Energy Company Limited
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- VISA Power Limited - India
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- Economic Council, Georgia
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- The Treasury - Australian Government
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- MS Steel International - UAE
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- PTC India Limited - India
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- The University of Queensland
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- Australian Coal Association
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- Minerals Council of Australia
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
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