Sunday, 19 Feb 2012
Bloomberg reported that steam coal may become the third commodity to surpass annual shipments by sea of 1 billion tonnes, joining crude oil and iron ore, as India raises imports of the solid fuel to feed new power plants.
According to data from Clarkson Research Services Ltd, a unit of the world’s largest shipbroker, seaborne coal trade will expand 4% to 956 million tonnes this year as Indian purchases gain 12% and imports into China climb 8%.
According to Mr Calum Kennedy, a senior analyst with Clarkson in London, deliveries may exceed 1 billion tonnes if Chinese power plants buy extra, cheaper foreign thermal coal.
Mr Ole Henry Senne COO of Singapore based SIVA Bulk Ltd whose vessels transport Indonesian coal to India said that “Before, the iron ore market was driving shipping markets. Now it’s India and China with their coal needs. If you took away the coal from India and the coal imported to China, there probably wouldn’t be a market.”
According to Clarkson, Indian imports of coal burned for power will have this year’s second strongest growth among all the 3.7 billion tonnes of global dry bulk commodities shipped by sea. The shipbroker projects a 17% increase to 104.2 million tonnes as Indian buying of coal used to make steel falls 3.4%. The fastest-growing trade is US iron ore imports, predicted to jump 33% to 1.6 million tonnes.
(Sourced from Bloomberg)
Showing posts with label seaborn coal market. Show all posts
Showing posts with label seaborn coal market. Show all posts
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Saturday, December 10, 2011
MetroCoal achieves 520MT initial thermal coal JORC Resource at Dalby West
Saturday, 10 Dec 2011
MetroCoal has established a maiden JORC Resource of 520 million tonnes thermal coal for the Dalby West project, following completion of its 2011 exploration drilling program.
Dalby West is located at the south eastern end of the Surat Basin in Queensland and MetroCoal’s total Surat Basin underground coal resources now equal 2,883 million tonnes. The resource is based on using underground mining methods to extract the coal seams.
MetroCoal's extensive coal exploration tenements in the Surat Coal Basin cover 4,000 square kilometres and are down dip of well known resources including Wandoan, Elimatta, Cameby Downs and Worri.
Based on the geological information from the historic drilling programs and its own drilling results, MetroCoal expects to identify a coal JORC Inferred Resource of at least 2 billion tonnes within the next two years for conventional underground coal mining.
Modelling has identified the Macalister Upper Seam as being continuous and correlateable within the polygon area. This seam has a minimum thickness of 2.5 metres and an average thickness of over 4.5 metres and has the best potential for mining as a single section.
Several other seams including the Kogan and Macalister Lower Seams were identified.
Coal quality analysis was consistent with expectations of the Macalister Upper Seam which is a low sulphur medium ash thermal coal.
On November 18 MetroCoal and joint venture partner SinoCoal Resources achieved another milestone with the increased Inferred Resource for the Columboola Project in the Surat Basin to nearly 1.3 billion tonnes of thermal coal, up from 540 million tonnes previously.
(sourced Proactiveinvestors)
MetroCoal has established a maiden JORC Resource of 520 million tonnes thermal coal for the Dalby West project, following completion of its 2011 exploration drilling program.
Dalby West is located at the south eastern end of the Surat Basin in Queensland and MetroCoal’s total Surat Basin underground coal resources now equal 2,883 million tonnes. The resource is based on using underground mining methods to extract the coal seams.
MetroCoal's extensive coal exploration tenements in the Surat Coal Basin cover 4,000 square kilometres and are down dip of well known resources including Wandoan, Elimatta, Cameby Downs and Worri.
Based on the geological information from the historic drilling programs and its own drilling results, MetroCoal expects to identify a coal JORC Inferred Resource of at least 2 billion tonnes within the next two years for conventional underground coal mining.
Modelling has identified the Macalister Upper Seam as being continuous and correlateable within the polygon area. This seam has a minimum thickness of 2.5 metres and an average thickness of over 4.5 metres and has the best potential for mining as a single section.
Several other seams including the Kogan and Macalister Lower Seams were identified.
Coal quality analysis was consistent with expectations of the Macalister Upper Seam which is a low sulphur medium ash thermal coal.
On November 18 MetroCoal and joint venture partner SinoCoal Resources achieved another milestone with the increased Inferred Resource for the Columboola Project in the Surat Basin to nearly 1.3 billion tonnes of thermal coal, up from 540 million tonnes previously.
(sourced Proactiveinvestors)
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
China's Coal Imports steam Ahead
Tuesday, 08 November 11
Chinese seaborne coal imports have grown greatly in recent years, up from 39.2mt in 2008 to 167.7mt in 2010, with the result that China became a net coal importer in 2009.
Chinese seaborne steam coal imports equated to less than 5% of Chinese coal consumption in 2010. Despite this, China is now the world’s second largest steam coal importer, accounting for 13.7% of seaborne imports in 2010. Thus, any changes in China’s import volumes will have a major impact on the global seaborne steam coal trade.
The existence of a pricing arbitrage between domestic and international coal prices was the catalyst for the upturn in Chinese coal imports. In 2010, higher domestic prices led Chinese consumers to source more coal from the international market, where the price was lower. As the Graph of the Month shows, in January 2010, the price of Indonesian steam coal (spot price + freight) was $39 per tonne cheaper than the Chinese domestic price (spot price + coastal freight) in south China. As a result, China imported an average of 9.0mt per month in Q1 2010, compared to just 1.2mt in the same period of 2009.
However, during the first quarter of 2011, a reduced average of 5.4mt of coal was imported by China. This reflects a higher global coal price (up to $139 per tonne), which made domestic coal a more cost-effective option.
Other Factors
Since April this year, Chinese domestic steam coal prices have risen and now exceed international prices. Thus, Chinese imports reached 12.0mt in September, the largest volume on record.
Other factors, in addition to pricing, support this short-term movement towards coal imports. Firstly, there are fears about potential power shortages, following a sharp decline in hydroelectricity output (down 11.2% and 14.9% y-o-y in July and August respectively). Secondly, it is likely that there will also be heightened demand for coal for power generation, due to the onset of winter. The price arbitrage should stimulate imports, as should reports that the central government will lower taxes and port charges on imported coal.
Potential Limitations
In the medium-term, Chinese domestic coal production may be limited if the government drive for better mine safety leads to mine closures. However, this may not inevitably lead to heightened seaborne imports. Production in countries like Mongolia and regions like Inner Mongolia has been ramping up recently and a railway expansion programme, due to be completed in 2015, will facilitate large-scale coal exports from these areas.
However, it is important not to understate the long-term impact of Chinese demand on seaborne coal trade even though most coal currently consumed by China is produced domestically. Even if seaborne import’s share of Chinese coal demand were to increase by just 2% percentage points over the course of the next decade to stand at 5%, then(assuming long-term demand growth of 2.5%), this would equate to an extra 100mt of annual seaborne import requirements.
In the long-run, any developments along this line would offer a considerable upside for dry bulk trade.
source: Clarksons / Hellenic Shipping & coalspot.com
Chinese seaborne coal imports have grown greatly in recent years, up from 39.2mt in 2008 to 167.7mt in 2010, with the result that China became a net coal importer in 2009.
Chinese seaborne steam coal imports equated to less than 5% of Chinese coal consumption in 2010. Despite this, China is now the world’s second largest steam coal importer, accounting for 13.7% of seaborne imports in 2010. Thus, any changes in China’s import volumes will have a major impact on the global seaborne steam coal trade.
The existence of a pricing arbitrage between domestic and international coal prices was the catalyst for the upturn in Chinese coal imports. In 2010, higher domestic prices led Chinese consumers to source more coal from the international market, where the price was lower. As the Graph of the Month shows, in January 2010, the price of Indonesian steam coal (spot price + freight) was $39 per tonne cheaper than the Chinese domestic price (spot price + coastal freight) in south China. As a result, China imported an average of 9.0mt per month in Q1 2010, compared to just 1.2mt in the same period of 2009.
However, during the first quarter of 2011, a reduced average of 5.4mt of coal was imported by China. This reflects a higher global coal price (up to $139 per tonne), which made domestic coal a more cost-effective option.
Other Factors
Since April this year, Chinese domestic steam coal prices have risen and now exceed international prices. Thus, Chinese imports reached 12.0mt in September, the largest volume on record.
Other factors, in addition to pricing, support this short-term movement towards coal imports. Firstly, there are fears about potential power shortages, following a sharp decline in hydroelectricity output (down 11.2% and 14.9% y-o-y in July and August respectively). Secondly, it is likely that there will also be heightened demand for coal for power generation, due to the onset of winter. The price arbitrage should stimulate imports, as should reports that the central government will lower taxes and port charges on imported coal.
Potential Limitations
In the medium-term, Chinese domestic coal production may be limited if the government drive for better mine safety leads to mine closures. However, this may not inevitably lead to heightened seaborne imports. Production in countries like Mongolia and regions like Inner Mongolia has been ramping up recently and a railway expansion programme, due to be completed in 2015, will facilitate large-scale coal exports from these areas.
However, it is important not to understate the long-term impact of Chinese demand on seaborne coal trade even though most coal currently consumed by China is produced domestically. Even if seaborne import’s share of Chinese coal demand were to increase by just 2% percentage points over the course of the next decade to stand at 5%, then(assuming long-term demand growth of 2.5%), this would equate to an extra 100mt of annual seaborne import requirements.
In the long-run, any developments along this line would offer a considerable upside for dry bulk trade.
source: Clarksons / Hellenic Shipping & coalspot.com
Thursday, July 7, 2011
China Bohai steam coal price falls first time since March
Thursday, 07 Jul 2011
Bloomberg reported that China Bohai coal prices along six northern ports fell for the first time since March after stockpiles and imports of the fuel increased.
According to the Qinhuangdao Seaborne Coal Market website Bohai Rim Steam Coal Price Index or BSPI fell 0.12% to CNY 842 per tonne compared with a week earlier.
The weekly gauge tracks power station coal prices at six major Chinese ports.
According to China Coal Transport and Distribution Association Coal stockpiles at the nation major power plants rose to more than 64.6 million tons in mid June or close to 18 days of use after utilities built inventories for summer. Prices at Qinhuangdao, another benchmark power-station coal at the nation largest port for the fuel remained unchanged on July 4 after reaching the highest in more than two years in June.
Beijing based coal association said in a statement that Bohai coal prices may fail to increase in summer because of rising imports and high inventories. Chinese coastal coal prices may decline.
According to Chinese customs data imports of the fuel from countries including Indonesia and Australia climbed to a four-month high of 13.6 million tons in May after higher domestic prices made overseas supplies more attractive. (sourced from Bloomberg)
Monday, February 28, 2011
SDIC Jingtang port coal stock rises last wk
Feb 28, 2011 By en.sxcoal
Coal stockpiled at SDIC Jingtang port, one of North China’s main loading ports, increased 13.37 percent in the week from Feb 22 to 28, according to a report from Qinhuangdao Seaborne Coal Market.
During the week, daily coal inventory at the port rose 235,800 tonnes on average from the previous week to 2 million tonnes, said the report.
As of Feb 28, Jingtang port had 2.05 million tonnes coal in stock, the highest stock since 2009.
Statistics showed coal transported to the port via railway decreased 49,700 tonnes to 873,900 tonnes last week, down 5.38 percent from a week ago, averaging 124,800 tonnes per day.
As Jingtang port closed the navigation for 20 hours due to gale occurred on Feb 27, coal handling at the port fell 167,000 tonnes or 24.42 percent from the previous week to 651,000 tonnes, averaging 93,000 tonnes a day, it added.
There were a total of 202 vessels waiting off the port last week, jumping 44.28 percent from a week ago or 62 vessels more.
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