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Power generation from coal and natural gas expected to temporarily converge this spring

Republished May 14, 2015, 2:00 p.m. to correct an error in the graph EIA’s most recent Short-Term Energy Outlook forecasts that the amount of electricity generation fueled by natural gas in April and May will total just 3.5% less than the projected amount of coal-fired generation. This convergence has occurred only once before, in April 2012, when natural gas fueled just 1.5% less generation than coal. Power generation from the two fuels is expected to rise at similar rates over the next couple months, and then diverge again later in the summer as demand rises and coal unit capacity utilization continues to rise. Natural gas-fired generation has been rising over the past few months, as the cost of natural gas has fallen to levels not seen since 2012 . These low fuel costs have made natural gas combined-cycle generating units in some areas of the country cheaper to operate […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Weekly US coal production slides for 12th straight week: EIA

Weekly US coal production totaled an estimated 16 million st in the week ended April 9, the lowest full-week estimate in the last five years, US Energy Information Administration data showed Thursday. The estimate — 16,029,316 st — is down 7.7% from the prior week’s estimate and down 15.1% from the year-ago week. While the EIA does not comment on its production estimates, the weekly total marked the 12th straight week of lower production when compared with last year as the coal market continues to deal with the fallout from low natural gas prices. Coal production in Wyoming and Montana, which is mostly made up of production from the Powder River Basin, totaled an estimated 6.9 million st during the week, down 14.4% compared with last year. Article continues below… Platts Global Coal Alert brings real-time coal industry information to those who can’t afford to wait until tomorrow to […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Indian Prime Minister Prods Coal Monopoly

State-run Coal India has failed to keep pace with the country’s demand for electricity. Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to whip the giant mining outfit into shape. Photo: Sanjit Das/Bloomberg News BEJDIH, India—Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to end decades of crippling electricity shortages and turn this country into a manufacturing dynamo. At the state-run behemoth’s mine here, men still move coal in baskets on their shoulders. At another project, electricity is so unreliable miners descend in a steam-powered elevator. One giant mine that opened last year runs at a fraction of capacity because a rail line to haul its coal is mired in bureaucracy. Committees and economists have long studied how to whip Coal India, the world’s largest producer of the fuel, into shape. Labor unions and their allies oppose ideas such as breaking the company into smaller units or privatizing it. Mr. Modi is taking a gradual […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Hampton Roads April coal exports down 37.2% from year ago

Coal exports from terminals in Virginia’s Hampton Roads region totaled 2.5 million st in April, down 28.3% from March and 37.2% lower than the year-ago month, data from the Virginia Maritime Association showed Wednesday. The association does not comment on its monthly figures, but low seaborne prices are likely behind the dip in exports. Discounting February’s export total of 2 million st, which was affected by loading delays due to bad weather, the April figure is the lowest since November 2010. April’s figures also show a weak comparison to March loadings, which were boosted by delayed loadings from February. Article continues below… Platts Coal Trader provides the latest prices for key benchmark coals, as well as: Daily pricing for tons and allowances for SO2 and NOx emissions The exclusive Platts OTC Broker Index, a market assessment compiled from three of the largest and most respected coal brokers What happened […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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US coal stockpiles at 165.6 million st, up 29.2% from a year ago: Bentek

US coal stockpiles totaled an estimated 165.6 million st for the week ended April 30, up 1.6% from the prior week and 29.2% from a year ago, Platts unit Bentek Energy said Friday. Utility coal consumption totaled 13.4 million st as it increased 2% with gains in the MISO and ERCOT regions, Bentek said. While recent coal consumption has been increasing, consumption is still 7% off from the same period last year. Coal production gains outweighed the increased consumption totaling 17.9 million st for the week, an increase of 6% from the prior week, Bentek said. Coal production is still down 5% on a year-to-date basis. –Jeffrey McDonald, [email protected] –Edited by Richard Rubin, [email protected] Platts Coal Trader provides the latest prices for key benchmark coals, as well as: Daily pricing for tons and allowances for SO2 and NOx emissions The exclusive Platts OTC Broker Index, a market assessment compiled […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Exclusive: U.S. examining coal cleanup program for shortfalls

BALTIMORE (Reuters) – The federal government is examining whether struggling U.S. coal companies still qualify for an exemption that allows them to avoid having to fully insure against billion-dollar mine cleanup costs, the top regulator for the mining industry said on Monday. Within the last several weeks, federal officials have begun to scrutinize the "self-bonding" programs that allow financially qualified mining companies to leave part of their potential clean-up costs uninsured, said Joseph Pizarchik, director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE). Coal states regulate mining operations – including the federal self-bonding program – on a day-to-day basis but federal officials may step in if not enough is done to guarantee cleanup work, or "reclamation". Insurance and legal experts say many U.S. coal companies would struggle to pay for full insurance against cleanup costs and lifting the exemption could push them closer to bankruptcies. "The state […]

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New Rules, Cheap Energy Heighten Battle Between Coal and Gas

ENLARGE A coal-fired power plant in Wyoming. The dispute over whether coal is a clean fuel isn’t merely semantic. Photo: JIM URQUHART/REUTERS HOUSTON—Tough new environmental rules and cheap energy prices are heightening the battle between coal miners and natural-gas pumpers over which fuel will dominate the U.S. power market. At the IHS CERAWeek global energy conference here, there were some heated words on both sides of the debate. “Cleaner coal, there’s no such thing,” Eldar Saetre, chief executive of the Norwegian oil giant Statoil ASA, told an audience of hundreds of people, most of them employed in the fossil-fuel industry. He added climate-conscious electric companies should burn natural gas instead. “The only thing that gets tense is when somebody like the head of Statoil makes a comment like there is no such thing as clean coal,” said Gregory Boyce, CEO of Peabody Energy Corp., one of the largest coal […]

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Weekly US coal production estimated at 18 million st, down 7.6%: EIA

Weekly US coal production totaled an estimated 18 million st in the week ended April 11, up 3.5% from the prior week but down 7.6% from the year-ago week, the Energy Information Administration said Thursday. Coal production in Wyoming and Montana, which is mostly made up of production from the Powder River Basin, totaled an estimated 7.8 million st during the week, down 6.8% compared with last year. Year-to-date coal production in Wyoming and Montana is estimated to total 114.4 million st, down 3.8% compared with the same period last year. In Central Appalachia, weekly coal production totaled an estimated 2.3 million st, down 16.3% from last year. Year-to-date coal production is estimated to total 34.4 million st, down 9.3% from last year. Weekly coal production in Northern Appalachia totaled an estimated 2.6 million st, down 4.9% from last year. Year-to-date coal production is estimated to total 37.6 million […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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China’s March coal imports down 32.7% on year: customs

China’s coal imports, including lignite, thermal and metallurgical coal, fell 32.7% year on year to 17.03 million mt in March, the ninth consecutive year-on-year decline, data from the General Administration of Customs (GAC) showed Monday. However, imports rose 11.6% from February, which was affected by the Lunar New Year holidays. The value of March imports was $1.67 billion, plunging 45.5% on the year but up 3.6% on the month. That translates to an average price of $62.65/mt, down $14.77/mt year on year and $4.84/mt lower on the month. The GAC will provide a breakdown of March imports later this month. Over January-March, the country imported 49.07 million mt of coal, down 41.5% year on year, the GAC said. Total value during the same period was $3.24 billion, a drop of 52.5% year on year. Meanwhile, China exported 320,000 mt of coal in March, dropping 56.8% on the year and […]

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Annual US coal production set to drop to 18-year low: EIA

US coal production this year could drop to a low not seen in almost 20 years, the US Energy Information Administration said Tuesday in its Short-Term Energy Outlook for April. EIA predicts US coal production will now total 926 million st in 2015, down 17 million st from its estimate last month, as both domestic demand and exports continue to decline. If the EIA’s estimate holds, it would be the lowest annual total for US coal production since 1987, when 918.8 million st was produced. In 2016, the agency predicts US coal production will rise to 941.4 million st, down 10 million st from its last estimate, made in March. In 2014, US coal production totaled 996.7 million st. A rise in the use of natural gas in electricity generation during the first few months of the year will lead to less coal consumption by utilities in 2015, the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple