South Korean utilities procure additional summer coal

: Coal
20/05/29

South Korean utilities secured additional summer coal supply through a series of tenders this week, as delivered prices rose.

State-owned Korea Midland Power awarded a Capesize cargo of Australian coal to trading firm Vitol at $47.50/t fob Newcastle on a NAR 6,080 kcal/kg basis. The heat content of the coal is understood to be around NAR 5,800 kcal/kg.

And Korea East West Power awarded six Capesize cargoes for loading in August-September — three to a Russian producer at around $55/t and three to trading company Glencore for Australian high-calorific value coal at around $51/t, all on a NAR 6,080 kcal/kg fob price basis.

Argus assessed the cfr South Korea minimum NAR 5,800 kcal/kg market at $56/t this week, equivalent to $58.70/t on a NAR 6,080 kcal/kg basis, while the NAR 5,800 kcal/kg fob Newcastle market was assessed at $45.47/t.

South Korean power demand remains much lower than normal for the time of year amid industrial disruption caused by Covid-19, although utilities' activity in the spot market may be a sign of steady seasonal demand for coal as the fuel remains competitive with gas at current prices.

Daily peak demand data suggest South Korean power generation in April-May was down by 10pc on the year, at 54GW, while the Korean power exchange this week forecast June demand down by nearly 4pc on the year, at 57.4GW.

But gas has probably been the first fuel displaced, as coal-fired plant restrictions have eased compared with 2019 and the fuel remains more cost-effective than domestically produced gas supplied by state-run Kogas. A slight drop in nuclear availability compared with actual generation last year may also have helped to lift coal burn on the year in the second quarter, despite weaker overall power demand.

Second-quarter coal burn could rise by 1.73GW on the year, if available capacity is dispatched at the same load as last year, which would be the equivalent of an additional 1.4mn t of NAR 5,800 kcal/kg coal burn in 40pc-efficient plants. This is based on scheduled Kepco coal-fired plant availability of around 28.7GW next month, although outages are revised weekly and could increase.

South Korean generation stack GW

Daily peak power demand: 7-day average GW

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25/04/15

Dozens of US coal plants eligible for MATS extension

Cheyenne, 15 April (Argus) — The White House has identified more than 60 fossil fuel-fired power plants that will have two extra years to comply with the more stringent mercury and air toxics standards (MATS) finalized in 2024. Under a proclamation signed by US president Donald Trump last week, the plants on the list will be able to operate under whatever existing mercury and air toxics standards they currently are subject to until 8 July 2029. That is two years after the compliance deadline put in place in May 2024. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules finalized last year tightened mercury and air toxics standards for coal- and oil-fired units by 67pc, included new emissions-monitoring requirements and added standards for lignite-fired coal plants that put them in line with those for other coal plants. EPA in March said it was reviewing the new standards and said companies could seek exemptions to the mercury rule and other emissions rules. Trump followed that up last week with a proclamation that certain generating facilities would be given a two-year exemption in complying with the 2024 rule. The White House released the list of exempt power plants late on 14 April. Most of the plants on the list are coal-fired generators, some of which were scheduled for retirement by the end of 2027. These include Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston plant and one unit of its Cumberland plant, as well as Vistra Energy's Kincaid, Baldwin and Newton plants and two coal units of Vistra's Miami Fort plant. The two coal units at Southern Company's Victor J Daniel plant in Mississippi also have been exempted from the new mercury and air toxics rules for two years. Southern had planned on retiring those units by the end of 2027, but in February, the Mississippi Public Service Commission approved two special contracts that were expected to need unit 2 of the Daniel plant and possibly a unit of a natural gas plant to run into the 2030s. Some other coal plant units owned by Southern, TVA and Vistra also are now exempt from the July 2027 mercury and air toxics compliance deadline. So are some plant units owned by East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC), NRG, Ameren and Entergy. At least two natural gas plant units — unit 5 of Southern's Plant Barry and City Utilities of Springfield's John Twitty Energy Center, which has coal and natural gas generation — are exempt from the July 2027 deadline. So is unit 5 of Entergy's RS Nelson plant, which runs on petroleum coke. Essentially all of the other units in the White House's list are coal units, including Otter Tail Power's Big Stone and Coyote Station plants in North Dakota. Otter Tail said it had requested the exemptions "to avoid making unnecessary expenditures" if EPA decides to roll back the 2024 rule. EKPC said it was "grateful" its request to exempt the Spurlock and Cooper coal-fired power plants in Kentucky was granted and that the company "will continue to operate the plants in accordance with all market and environmental rules." NRG said it was still reviewing the order, but did not expect it to have any effect on its plans. TVA, Southern, Vistra and owners of other power plants given compliance extensions did not respond to requests for comment. By Courtney Schlisserman Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Australian coal methane emissions under-reported: Ember

25/04/15

Australian coal methane emissions under-reported: Ember

London, 15 April (Argus) — Australian coal miners emitted 40pc more methane in 2020 than they reported, energy think-tank Ember said in a review of satellite data released today. The organisation, along with energy intelligence company Kayrros, analysed methane emissions from four mining "clusters" in Queensland in 2020, which account for roughly three fourths of the state's thermal coal and almost all of its coking coal production. The investigators found "a total of 1.42 ± 0.19 million tonnes of methane released from coal mines" in that year. Miners in the state reported 1.01mnt of methane emissions during the same period. The difference between reported and actual emissions was much larger in New South Wales, Ember said. "While the state reported 379,000t of methane in 2020, our satellite study identified 721,000t of methane that year, while only accounting for approximately 61pc of the state's coal production," the organisation said. If all coal mines in New South Wales followed the same trend, this would suggest total methane emissions of 1.2mn t, more than three times the figure producers reported to the government. Ember are not the only organisation criticising Australia's official numbers. Climate Trace and Open Methane, two organisations monitoring greenhouse gas emissions by satellite, suggest that Australian coal miners are only reporting half of their methane emissions. Academics supported by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), writing in the American Chemical Society, published an article this year saying that trading company Glencore's Hail Creek mine was emitting four to five times more methane than it reported. Glencore sharply criticised the Hail Creek report, saying the study's aerial surveys lacked credibility because they were based on very limited samples and did not consider "inherent mining variability." The firm said that the report "failed to detect methane emissions" that it had reported itself. The producer, one of the country's largest, has repeatedly criticised satellite measures of methane emissions. The method, the firm said in a 2022 statement, is vulnerable to "atmospheric contaminants such as dust, water vapour or smoke" and cannot reliably detect the amount of greenhouse gases coming from mines. The Australian government launched a review of their methane reporting last year in light of the new satellite techniques used by researchers. The UK and EU are both planning a carbon tax on imported goods called the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) in the next two years. If either government were to accept Ember's figures, they could theoretically raise taxes on imported steel made with Australian coking coal. Neither government plans on taxing coal imports directly under CBAM. By Austin Barnes Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Indonesian coal producer Bukit Asam to raise 2025 capex

25/04/15

Indonesian coal producer Bukit Asam to raise 2025 capex

Manila, 15 April (Argus) — Indonesian state-owned coal producer Bukit Asam has increased its 2025 capital expenditure (capex) plan from a year earlier, as it focuses on completing key projects to support its expansion plans. The company said it has earmarked 7.2 trillion Indonesian rupiah ($428mn) as the capital expenditure (capex) plan for this year, a more than three-fold increase from last year's Rp2.35 trillion. Bukit Asam will fund around 80pc of the capex via loans while the remainder will be from the company's own coffers. The company said that it is able to be more aggressive with loans since it has a healthy debt-to-equity ratio of 0.6. The bulk of the capex will be used for the completion of the Tanjung Enim-Kramasan coal railway system, a key infrastructure project to allow the company to increase its coal production. The commercial operation of the railway project will boost the company's transportation capacity by another 20mn t/yr of coal. Construction of the railway project started in 2023 with a target to operationalise the line in 2025, but the project ran into delays. Bukit Asam is now targeting to open the line by the third quarter of 2026. This will be in line with the company's long-term plan of boosting output to 100mn t/yr by 2030. Bukit Asam is also increasing investments in its downstream project, in line with the government's push to develop the downstream coal industry. It has already partnered with Indonesia's National Research and Innovation Agency to develop artificial graphite sheets using Bukit Asam's coal. The pilot project has seen moderate success, but improvements are still needed to reach economic feasibility. Additional funds would help to improve conductivity and density to reach international standards, with the goal of commercial operations by 2028. The project is important for Bukit Asam, as it sees an increase in usage for artificial graphite sheets, ahead with the rising popularity of electric vehicles that would make Li-ion battery parts manufacturing an attractive coal downstream avenue. By Antonio delos Reyes Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Funding cuts could delay US river lock work: Correction

25/04/14

Funding cuts could delay US river lock work: Correction

Corrects lock locations in paragraph 5. Houston, 14 April (Argus) — The US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) will have to choose between various lock reconstruction and waterway projects for its annual construction plan after its funding was cut earlier this year. Last year Congress allowed the Corps to use $800mn from unspent infrastructure funds for other waterways projects. But when Congress passed a continuing resolutions for this year's budget they effectively removed that $800mn from what was a $2.6bn annual budget for lock reconstruction and waterways projects. This means a construction plan that must be sent to Congress by 14 May can only include $1.8bn in spending. No specific projects were allocated funding by Congress, allowing the Corps the final say on what projects it pursues under the new budget. River industry trade group Waterways Council said its top priority is for the Corps to provide a combined $205mn for work at the Montgomery lock in Pennsylvania on the Ohio River and Chickamauga lock in Tennessee on the Tennessee River since they are the nearest to completion and could become more expensive if further delayed. There are seven active navigation construction projects expected to take precedent, including the following: the Chickamauga and Kentucky Locks on the Tennessee River; Locks 2-4 on the Monongahela River; the Three Rivers project on the Arkansas River; the LaGrange Lock on the Illinois River; Lock 25 on the Mississippi River; and the Montgomery Lock on the Ohio River. There are three other locks in Texas, Pennsylvania and Illinois that are in the active design phase (see map) . By Meghan Yoyotte Corps active construction projects 2025 Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Треть заявок направлением на запад не обеспечены грузом

25/04/14

Треть заявок направлением на запад не обеспечены грузом

Moscow, 14 April (Argus) — Около 30% согласованных заявок на экспортные перевозки угля через южные и северо-западные порты в I квартале были инфлированными — не были обеспечены грузовой базой, сообщил заместитель генерального директора — начальник центральной дирекции управления движением РЖД Михаил Глазков на брифинге начале апреля. В прошлом году доля таких заявок не превышала 2%. Ослабление интереса к западным маршрутам со стороны угольщиков объясняется снижением мировых цен на твердое топливо и укреплением курса рубля к доллару США. Между тем РЖД зарезервировала локомотивы и локомотивные бригады под заявленные объемы угля, был заадресован также порожний подвижной состав, который отправился из портов, но не доехал до станции погрузки из-за отсутствия груза. Из-за инфлированных заявок на западном направлении в марте мы теряли более 150 тыс. т угля ежесуточно, или 4,5 млн т в абсолютном исчислении. В апреле эта проблема сохраняется. Каждый день на Северо-Кавказскую, Октябрьскую и Западно-Сибирскую железную дорогу [Запсиб] не предъявляется к погрузке порядка 1,6 тыс. вагонов, что проводит к потерям 100 тыс. т груза ежедневно, — заявил Глазков. Кроме того, 72 тыс. порожних полувагонов, заадресованных на Запсиб, не были востребованы для перевозки. Этот подвижной состав остается на путях общего пользования и ухудшает эксплуатационную обстановку на сети. За простой парка платит отправитель, который заявил к перевозке груз, но не предъявил его впоследствии. В то же время РЖД удалось компенсировать выпадающую погрузку на северо-западном направлении привлечением дополнительного объема черных металлов и минеральных удобрений, сообщил Глазков. Госкомпания предлагает повысить штраф за инфлированную заявку в 24 раза, до 240 руб./т не погруженного груза. Штрафы предлагается сделать поступательными в зависимости от времени отказа перевозки до запрошенной даты. Ранее эта инициатива уже предлагалась, но не была поддержана в Совете Федерации. Мы со своей стороны готовы нести взаимную ответственность за невывоз согласованных к перевозке грузов, — заверил Глазков. Сергей Маруев ___________________ Больше ценовой информации и аналитических материалов о рынке транспортировки навалочных, генеральных грузов и контейнеров — в ежемесячном отчете Argus Логистика сухих грузов . Подписаться на аналитический дайджест Вы можете присылать комментарии по адресу или запросить дополнительную информацию feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Группа Argus Media . Все права защищены.

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