Update on import of coal for thermal power stations

Monday, 28 Nov 2011

Mr KC Venugopal minister of state for power informed the Lok Sabha that in order to bridge the gap between requirement of coal and its availability from the domestic sources in respect of thermal power stations designed on indigenous coal, power utilities have been assigned an import target of 35 million tonne for the year 2011-12.

Utility wise Target for Import of Coal for the year 2011-12 in respect of Power Stations designed on Domestic Coal is given below:

Power Utility	Volume
Haryana Power Generation Corporation Ltd.	1.45
Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd.	1.45
Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd	1.08
Madhya Pradesh Power Generating Company Ltd	0.80
Torrent AEC	0.50
Gujarat State Electricity Corporation Ltd	1.48
Maharashtra State Power Generation Co Ltd	3.35
Reliance Energy	0.60
Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corporation	1.60
Tamil Nadu Generation & Distribution Corporation	1.80
Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd	0.90
Damodar Valley Corporation	1.73
Calcutta Elect Supply Company	0.50
West Bengal Power Development Corporation Ltd	1.00
NTPC	15.45
Aravali Power Company Private Limited	0.30
Reliance Rosa	0.30
NTPC SAIL Power Company	0.30
TATA (Maithon RB)	0.21
Chhattisgarh State Power Generation Company	0.20
Total	35.00

In million tonne

In addition, the power stations have also been envisaged to operate on imported coal. The coal import requirement for such power stations for the year 2011-12 was assessed as 20 million tonne.

Power ministry seeks withdrawal of import duty on coal into India

Tuesday, 22 Nov 2011

FE reported that the Indian ministries of power and finance are likely to lock horns over a proposal to withdraw customs duty on imported coal.

Taking up the cudgels for power projects hit by the unprecedented increase in international coal prices, the power ministry has moved to push for removal of customs duty on coal to provide relief to power projects using imported fuel.

Apprehensive that the North Block may not be keen to entertain a proposal which entails revenue loss for the exchequer, the power ministry has moved to secure support of the Planning Commission on the issue.

Currently, a 5% basic customs duty is levied on coal.

(Sourced from financialexpress.com)

Big plan to move coal by river to Assam

Fri, Nov.18, 2011

Kolkata: Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is exploring the possibility of transporting coal to Assam by the river route on a big scale.

“NTPC wants about one million tonnes of imported coal transported annually by the river route to meet the requirements of its Bongaigaon thermal plant”, Ms Bhupinder Prasad, Chairperson of IWAI, told Business Line.

“We’re examining how to do it. The coal is to be unloaded from barges at Jogigopa for onward movement by road to Bongaigaon thermal plant”.

Located at Salakati, the Bongaigaon thermal plant is about 60 km from Jogigopa.
To invite bids

IWAI would invite bids from intending firms for undertaking the entire operation once the detailed project report was ready, she said.

The river route to Assam is through Bangladesh. “But it should pose no problem as there already exists a trade and transit treaty between the two countries”, she added.
Critical role

The river transportation of coal, as Ms Prasad pointed out, would steadily pick up in coming years and IWAI would play a critical role in it.

According to one estimate, about 70 million tonnes-80 mt of imported coal would have to be transported by the river route by 2017, the terminal year of the 12th Plan.

By that time the country would be required to import about 250 mt of coal for the power sector and the railways would be able to handle about 160/180 mt of it.
11 thermal power plants

A spokesman for IWAI said already 11 thermal power plants could be accessed from the National Waterway Number 1, i.e, Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system, and another nine plants, some with huge capacity, were due to come up along the river system.

“The potential for barge movement of coal by the river route, therefore, is huge”, he said. “Virtually sky is the limit”.

The existing plants are located at Kolaghat, Budge Budge, Bandel, Sagardighi, Farakka, Kahalgaon, Barauni, Barh, Muzaffarpur, Anpara and Opra and proposed plants are to be located at Katwa, Pir Painty, Bhagalpur, Lakhiseari, Buxar, Mirzapur, Meja, Bara and Karchhana.
Barge movement

Barring unforeseen developments, the barge movement of imported coal from the Sandheads, the mouth of the Hooghly river, to Farakka plant of NTPC, covering a distance of 650 km or so, should start within a year or so.

The Jindal ITF, the spv floated by the Jindal Group to implement the project, is to invest an estimated Rs 650 crore on acquisition of vessels, creation of handling facilities and construction of two-km long conveyor system from the Farakka jetty to the coal stacking yard of the plant to transport about three million tonnes annually.

“We’ll guarantee minimum required draft in the river to facilitate barge movement”, the spokesman added.

Keywords: Inland Waterways Authority of India, IWAI, coal transportation, river route, Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system, Bongaigaon thermal plant,

Sourced:Business Line

Probe ordered into delay in coal lifting by Mahagenco

Thursday, 27 Oct 2011

DNA reported that Maharashtra government has ordered a probe into the delay in the lifting of allotted coal by the state power utility that has resulted in a power crisis.

The announcement was made by state chief minister Mr Prithviraj Chavan during his visit to Kolhapur to attend a function to induct supporters of independent MP and former NCP leader Mr Sadashivrao Mandlik into the Congress.

On October 20th 2011, DNA carried a report ('State creates crisis to import costly coal') stating that the Maharashtra State Power Generation Company failed to lift its allotted quota of coal from the mines of Western Coalfields Limited this year, resulting in an acute power crisis in the state. Instead, it went ahead and placed orders to import expensive coal from Indonesia and South Africa for its thermal power plants.

Mr Chavan declared that the state will become load shedding free in 2012 when various power projects will commence. He said that "The coal-related issue created the present power crisis. The coal available in the state is of low quality. An inquiry will be conducted regarding the delay in lifting the coal allotted to the state."

sourced:DNA India

ThyssenKrupp to invest in Rotterdam coal terminal capacity expansion

Monday, 25 July 2011

German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp AG intends to invest more than €20 million to expand the handling capacity at the import terminal of Rotterdam port, in order to increase its coal imports.

ThyssenKrupp handles 90 percent of its raw material at the second-biggest terminal of Rotterdam port.

ThyssenKrupp seeks to import more coal as coal production in Germany is predicted to decrease gradually in the coming years. The expansion will result in a 50 percent increase in storage capacity, enabling the company to handle about one third more of coking coal than before.

(By steelorbis)

Coal India to import tens of millions of tons of coal under long-term supply deals

bySayeh Tavangar,
Coal Trader International
Feb7,2011
Coal India Limited is putting the finishing touches to a long-term coal supply contract framework that could see it purchase tens of millions of tons of imported thermal coal from Australia, Indonesia, South Africa and the US from a list of pre-selected coal suppliers for delivery starting in April, according to sources in the Indian market.

The Kolkata-based Indian coal producer is assembling a panel of coal suppliers, each able to supply Coal India with a minimum of 1 million mt/year of imported thermal coal under the terms of its 10-year Long Term Off-take of Coal contract framework.
Coal India has already drawn-up a short-list of potential coal suppliers from parties that responded to its request for expressions of interest last August.

These short-listed suppliers have now been invited by Coal India to participate in the second round of its panel selection process which is currently underway.
Companies that were successful in qualifying for the second selection stage have been sent copies of Coal India's draft Contract for Long Term Off-take of Coal (CLTO) and have been asked to comment on its proposals.

In its CLTO document, Coal India said its objective is to "select companies for entering into a CLTO for a period of 10 years for the supply of thermal coal for the generation of power for any or all of the four countries namely; Australia, USA, Indonesia and South Africa."
A final draft of Coal India's coal supply tender document is expected to be released to interested parties within one week, according to a market source.
Tender evaluated on an CFR India basis Importantly, Coal India said its long-term coal supply contracts are "expected to be finalized at a price less than the prevailing import price." All price offers for the tender will be evaluated on a cost and freight (CFR) India basis, the document said.
"The purpose of such a CLTO is to insulate [Indian] consumers from any international price volatility and secure the quantities for a period of 10 years," Coal India's document said.
Offers into the Coal India tender are to be grouped into 16 categories, eight for high calorific value coal (i.e. more than 5,500 kcal/kg GAR) and eight for medium cv coal (which it defines as between 4,000-5,500 kcal/kg GAR).

Coal from each of the four countries of origin specified in the tender document are to be quoted for delivery to both the east and west coasts of India.
Coal India will identify lowest-price bids on a C&F India basis in each of its 16 bid categories, said the document.
Suppliers that are successful in the tender will be asked to provide Coal India with a minimum quantity of 1 million mt/year of imported thermal coal, starting delivery in April 2011 through to March 2021, adding up to a total of 10 million mt over the 10-year period of each supply contract.

Prices for the coal supplied to Coal India under each 10-year deal will be linked to price indices for Richards Bay and Newcastle coal, the document said.
Coal India could potentially purchase up to 25 million mt/year of coal under its long-term coal supply contract framework, adding up to a total of 250 million mt over the 10-year term of the CLTO tender, according to one market source. Other market sources said the quantity of coal purchased in the tender could add up to tens of millions of tons.
India's minister for coal, Sriprakash Jaiswal reportedly told an Indian conference February 3 that India was facing a growing gap in its supply of coal that could reach 142 million mt in the financial year to March 2012 and 200 million mt in the year thereafter.
Mike Cooper, (sourced:Platts)