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China's first direct coal liquefaction line produces 866,000 tonnes

China’s first direct coal-to-oil project, operated by the country’s leading coal producer, Shenhua Group, produced 866,000 tonnes of oil products last year. The direct coal liquefaction line is located in Ejin Horo Banner, Ordos City in northern Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. It produces 3,000 tonnes of oil products with consumption of nearly 10,000 tonnes of coal per day, said Shenhua Coal Liquefaction and Chemical Co., Ltd. With an investment of 12.6 billion yuan (2.06 billion U.S. dollars), Shenhua Group began construction of the project in 2004, using self-developed technologies. The project began trial production at the end of 2009 with a designed annual capacity of 1.08 million tonnes of diesel, naphtha and liquefied petroleum gas. Proven coal reserves around Ordos are estimated at 160 billion tonnes, or 11.4 percent of the country’s total coal reserves. As part of its clean energy strategy, China has […]

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US coal’s new focus on exporting leaves a cloud of dust over Louisiana

The domestic demand for U.S. coal has fallen in recent years as the use of other energy sources such as natural gas has grown. This, combined with tighter environmental rules , means that coal companies are starting to export their product like never before: From 2002 to 2012, coal exports from the United States more than tripled, to 127 million tons, according to the International Energy Agency. The U.S. government estimates that about 25 percent of that went to Asia. But coal companies haven’t captured enough of the international market, and haven’t built enough terminals, to make up for the sagging domestic demand — U.S. coal production has fallen by about 15 percent from its peak of about 1 billion tons in 2008. With Asia’s economy growing, coal companies see the Pacific Northwest as the best location for coal terminals. But a groundswell of environmental activism in Washington and Oregon has so far […]

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Poland’s PGE OKs $3.78 billion expansion of Opole coal-fired plant

Construction will begin next month on 1,800 megawatts of new coal-fired generating capacity at Poland’s Opole Power Plant, owner PGE announced this week. A statement released Thursday by the state-owned power producer said its management board had approved a program of internal financing to build two 900-megawatt generators in a $3.78 billion expansion of the Opole plant, to be designed by the French multinational Alstom. The move came two months after PGE’s former chief executive, Krzysztof Kilian, quit his job heading Poland’s biggest utility amid reports the company was being politically pressured to proceed with the expansion despite rejecting it in April as unprofitable. Now led by Marek Woszczyk, the company now says the financing will allow construction to begin as scheduled Feb. 1, with the first unit to be completed in 4 1/2 years and the second less than year later. In […]

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Poland's PGE OKs $3.78 billion expansion of Opole coal-fired plant

Construction will begin next month on 1,800 megawatts of new coal-fired generating capacity at Poland’s Opole Power Plant, owner PGE announced this week. A statement released Thursday by the state-owned power producer said its management board had approved a program of internal financing to build two 900-megawatt generators in a $3.78 billion expansion of the Opole plant, to be designed by the French multinational Alstom. The move came two months after PGE’s former chief executive, Krzysztof Kilian, quit his job heading Poland’s biggest utility amid reports the company was being politically pressured to proceed with the expansion despite rejecting it in April as unprofitable. Now led by Marek Woszczyk, the company now says the financing will allow construction to begin as scheduled Feb. 1, with the first unit to be completed in 4 1/2 years and the second less than year later. In […]

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India's Dec coal imports fall 4% on month to 12.2 mil mt: Interocean

India’s coal imports via major ports across the country dropped 4% month on month in December, to around 12.2 million mt, data released late Tuesday by Indian ship broker Interocean showed. In November, imports totaled 12.7 million mt. Of the total imports in December, 2.6 million mt was coking coal, up 53% from 1.7 million mt in the previous month, while steam coal comprised 9.6 million mt, down 13% from 11 million mt in November, the data showed. Mundra port on India’s west coast received the largest quantity of coal shipments in December, at 2 million mt, down 17% from 2.4 million mt in November. Article continues below… Request a free trial of: Coal Trader International International Coal Report Platts Coal Trader International is the only daily publication where you can access Platts proprietary price assessments for coal trading in the Atlantic and […]

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India’s Dec coal imports fall 4% on month to 12.2 mil mt: Interocean

India’s coal imports via major ports across the country dropped 4% month on month in December, to around 12.2 million mt, data released late Tuesday by Indian ship broker Interocean showed. In November, imports totaled 12.7 million mt. Of the total imports in December, 2.6 million mt was coking coal, up 53% from 1.7 million mt in the previous month, while steam coal comprised 9.6 million mt, down 13% from 11 million mt in November, the data showed. Mundra port on India’s west coast received the largest quantity of coal shipments in December, at 2 million mt, down 17% from 2.4 million mt in November. Article continues below… Request a free trial of: Coal Trader International International Coal Report Platts Coal Trader International is the only daily publication where you can access Platts proprietary price assessments for coal trading in the Atlantic and […]

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Coal surge sullies Germany's clean energy image

The share of electricity generated from coal rose in Germany last year as the country seeks to achieve its ambitious aim of switching off all nuclear power plants by 2022. Industry figures published Tuesday show that bituminous coal and lignite together contributed 45.5 percent of Germany’s gross energy output in 2013, up from 44 percent the previous year. Environmentalists criticize the increasing use of coal, saying it is a "dirty" source because of the large amount of carbon dioxide released when it is burned. Heavily subsidized renewable sources such as wind, solar, biomass and hydropower also increased their contribution to 23.4 percent, up from 22.8 percent in 2012. The share of nuclear power dropped to 15.4 percent from 15.8 percent. © 2014 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy […]

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Coal surge sullies Germany’s clean energy image

The share of electricity generated from coal rose in Germany last year as the country seeks to achieve its ambitious aim of switching off all nuclear power plants by 2022. Industry figures published Tuesday show that bituminous coal and lignite together contributed 45.5 percent of Germany’s gross energy output in 2013, up from 44 percent the previous year. Environmentalists criticize the increasing use of coal, saying it is a "dirty" source because of the large amount of carbon dioxide released when it is burned. Heavily subsidized renewable sources such as wind, solar, biomass and hydropower also increased their contribution to 23.4 percent, up from 22.8 percent in 2012. The share of nuclear power dropped to 15.4 percent from 15.8 percent. © 2014 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy […]

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Falling Chinese domestic thermal coal prices pose risk for imports

Chinese domestic thermal coal prices have fallen further, fuelling speculation that some power utilities might be looking to walk away from existing contracts for imported material, sources said Monday. "I have heard rumours maybe that some power plants in China are renegotiating or defaulting on some shipments. But that is just a rumour," a Singapore-based source said. "If I had sold February arrivals [cargoes of 5,500 kcal/kg NAR imported coal] above $84/mt, I would be slightly panicking as I think the Chinese expect levels to get back down to about $79-80/mt CFR south China or maybe lower," he added. Late last week, a Singapore-based trader said falling domestic prices could lead to some possible defaults by Chinese imported thermal coal buyers on existing contracts in the coming weeks. Capesize cargoes of 5,500 kcal/kg NAR Australian coal were heard being offered at around Yuan 620/mt […]

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Zhengzhou Coal Chairman Steps Down Amid Corruption Probe

State-owned Zhengzhou Coal Industry Group Co. Chairman Meng Zhongze has resigned after becoming the target of a corruption investigation. He is the latest senior official to find himself in the cross hairs of a crackdown on corruption in China. The government has launched a series of corruption investigations across the country’s energy and resources sector this year, targeting senior officials at China National Petroleum Corp. and Yunnan Tin Co. 000960.SZ +0.27% Yunnan Tin Co. Ltd. A China: Shenzhen ¥ 11.05 +0.03 +0.27% Dec. 24, 2013 3:01 pm Volume : 1.84M P/E Ratio N/A Market Cap ¥12.80 Billion Dividend Yield 1.18% Rev. per Employee ¥1,379,850 10/09/13 Goldman Sachs Pops Up in China… 10/08/13 Bribery Charge Leveled at Chin… More quote details and news » 000960.SZ in Your Value Your Change Short position , among others. Zhengzhou Coal’s listed unit, Zhengzhou Coal Industry and Electric Power Co., said in a statement […]

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