Indonesia’s Geo Energy to build new coal infrastructure
Indonesian coal producer Geo Energy has signed a $150mn t contract for the construction and development of a 92km coal hauling road and loading jetty in south Sumatra's Jambi province.
The infrastructure will have a capacity of 40mn-50mn t yr with a planned completion in late 2025 or early 2026. Of this, 25mn t will be reserved for Geo Energy's Triaryani (TRA) mine, with the remaining capacity to be leased to neighbouring mines, Geo Energy said.
The development will carried out by state-owned Chinese enterprises First Harbor Consultants and Norinco International. The new infrastructure will be instrumental in TRA aiming to boost production up to 25mn t, Geo Energy said.
Geo Energy produces low-calorific value coal. Its January-March coal sales totalled 1.8mn t, down by 5.3pc from 1.9mn t a year earlier. Its output fell by over 16pc to 1.5mn t over the same period. The output drop was because of seasonal and weather conditions, the company said in May.
It acquired stakes in domestic mining firm Golden Eagle Energy and logistics firm Marga Bara Jaya in July 2023. The deal gives it access to proven and probable coal reserves of more than 300mn t in south Sumatra.
The company said it is on track to achieve sales of 10mn-11mn t this year because it expects higher year-on-year output in the second half of the year. It has obtained a production quota of 10.5mn t for 2024. This includes 8mn t at its SDJ and TBR mines and another 2.5mn t for TRA.
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Adani raises coal output at Australia’s Carmichael mine
Adani raises coal output at Australia’s Carmichael mine
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Australia’s Newcastle coal ship queue increases
Australia’s Newcastle coal ship queue increases
Sydney, 5 August (Argus) — The shipping queue outside the key Australian coal port of Newcastle hit a two-year high of 41 vessels on 5 August, despite higher throughput at the Port Waratah Coal Service (PWCS) terminals. The average vessel turnaround time in July at PWCS eased to 7.38 days from a 22-month high of 7.61 days in June as exports increased but the shipping queue grew on increased arrivals. The PWCS terminals' shipments rose to 8.61mn t in July from 7.9mn t in June but was down from 8.79mn t in July 2023, according to PWCS data. There was no maintenance planned for July but the port of Newcastle was hit by storms and rough seas during the month. There is a major rail maintenance programme under way during 3-6 August . Newcastle Coal Infrastructure (NCIG) does not release data for its terminal at Newcastle, while the Port Authority of New South Wales has not yet released overall data for July. Newcastle shipped 12.28mn t in June, up from 11.77mn t in May. This implies that NCIG shipped 4.38mn t in June. Newcastle shipped 73.2mn t during January-June, up from 67.98mn t for January-June 2023, according to port data. By Jo Clarke PWCS coal loading data Jul '24 Jun '24 Jul '23 Jan-Jul '24* Jan- Jul '23* PWCS loadings (mn t) 8.61 7.90 8.79 56.39 52.92 PWCS stocks (mn t) 2.25 1.60 1.53 1.57 1.46 PWCS turnaround time (days) 7.38 7.60 2.88 4.66 2.13 Newcastle ship queue (vessels) 41 31 13 23.57 10.57 Source: PWCS * PWCS loadings is a total YTD, all others are average per month YTD Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
China to set hard targets for curbing CO2 emissions
China to set hard targets for curbing CO2 emissions
San Francisco, 2 August (Argus) — China is planning a shift in the way it controls greenhouse gases, specifically carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, in a move that could support progress in its national emissions trading scheme (ETS), although it is unclear what emissions levels will be targeted. The country currently measures CO2 against economic growth, or emissions per unit of GDP in what is known as carbon intensity. This allows it to tout progress despite rising emissions so long as these do not rise faster than GDP. But it plans to change this. Beijing aims to incorporate CO2 indicators and related requirements into national plans and establish and improve local carbon assessments in a goal to improve CO2 statistical accounting. This will affect sectors including the power, steel, building materials, non-ferrous metals, and petrochemicals sectors, according to a state council work plan issued on 2 August. It will evaluate CO2 emissions of fixed asset investments and conduct product carbon footprint assessments while local governments will implement provincial carbon budgets that could enter trials in 2025. The latter will involve a wide range of industries including oil, petrochemicals, coal-to-gas, steel, cement, aluminium, solar panels manufacturing and electric vehicles, among others. Beijing is hoping such measures will allow it to set hard targets for CO2 emissions from 2026-2030, although the government will still prioritise intensity control in the meantime in what it calls a ‘dual-control mechanism' — switching from controlling intensity to actual emissions of CO2. Provinces are expected to be allowed to further refine this dual control mechanism, suggesting it will may give localities some leeway to adjust. China's ETS currently includes only the power sector due in large part to challenges collating accurate CO2 emissions data from other sectors, although it is expected to include other sectors like aluminium into the scheme soon. China unveiled new regulations for its ETS earlier this year, aiming to crack down on falsification of data. It sees the ETS as a tool to help it meet a goal to peak carbon emissions before 2030 and reach carbon neutrality before 2060. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Mexico 2Q GDP data, surveys point to slower economy
Mexico 2Q GDP data, surveys point to slower economy
Mexico City, 2 August (Argus) — Private-sector analysts have lowered estimates for Mexico's 2024 and 2025 gross domestic product (GDP) growth while raising inflation forecasts for both years, the central bank said Thursday. For a fourth consecutive month, the survey's median forecasts for GDP growth in 2024 declined, with analysts polled lowering growth estimates to 1.8pc for 2024 from 2pc in last month's survey. The 2025 growth forecast slipped to 1.61pc from 1.78pc. The shift in forecasts arrives on the heels of preliminary second quarter GDP data, posted by statistics agency Inegi 30 July, showing the economy grew by an annual 2.2pc in the second quarter, up from 1.6pc in the first quarter but slowing from 3.5pc in the second quarter 2023. The central bank's 2024 GDP estimate was lower than a 2.4pc estimate from Mexican bank Banorte. Median projections for end-2024 inflation in the central bank's private-sector survey for July moved to 4.58pc from 4.23pc, with end-2025 projections rising to 3.83pc from 3.76pc in the June survey. The central bank cited higher risks to inflation from a weakening peso and a potentially severe hurricane season in its latest monetary policy decision on 27 June when it held its target interest rate at 11pc. The peso weakened above 19 pesos to the US dollar Friday for the first time since January 2023, extending the losses triggered after 2 June elections that effectively erased congressional opposition to the progressive Morena party. It has weakened from 16.3 pesos to the dollar early April, its strongest level in more than eight years. Growth in the industrial sector grew by an annual 1.9pc in the second quarter from 0.9pc in the first quarter, while services grew by 2.7pc in the second quarter from 2.1pc in the prior quarter, according to the latest GDP report. Agriculture contracted by 2.7pc in the second quarter from 0.6pc growth in the first quarter. "The economy's exceptional momentum in previous years may be running out of steam," said Mexican bank Banorte in a note on the GDP report. Banorte noted uncertainty in manufacturing, "although some of the early nearshoring-related investments could begin to result into more production. In addition, the auto sector remains strong, key to driving the category forward." The downtrend is supported by comments from ratings agency Moody's out this week, predicting a "substantial slowdown" in the second half of 2024. By James Young Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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