The US, aiming at reducing Russia’s revenues, imposed sanctions against Sibanthracite, one of the largest metallurgical coal producers in Russia. The US Ministry of Finance sanctioned also 12 organizations, parts of the coal company’s structure. Due to the new restrictive measures Sibanthracite is forced to redirect its supplies to the domestic market. In January-March 2024, Sibanthracite’s output decreased to 5.7 mio t (-0.8 mio t or -14.1% y-o-y), exports down to 4.2 mio t (-2.0 mio t or -32.2% y-o-y). Meanwhile, in 2023, coal production edged up to 24.2 mio t (+0.4 mio t or +1.7% y-o-y), wh ..read more

Over the past week, thermal coal indices on the European market kept moving downward below the 105 USD/t mark, following lower consumption, as well as falling gas prices amid easing concerns about the conflict in the Middle East. The G7 energy ministers reached an agreement to phase out coal in electricity generation in H1 of the 2030s, as part of the plan to achieve carbon neutrality. A more specific target date was not set at the request of Germany and Japan. The restrictions apply to facilities that are not provided with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies. The US also introduced ..read more

Profits of Russian coal companies (adjusted for losses) in January-February 2024 collapsed 5.3-fold from 1.2 bln USD to 0.2 bln USD (-1.0 bln USD y-o-y). At the same time, the losses doubled to 0.3 bln USD. The share of loss-making entities increased from 39% to 46%. In 2023, profits of Russian coal companies dropped 2.1-fold to 3.9 bln USD (-4.6 bln USD y-o-y) due to falling prices on the global market and a substantial increase in costs. Additional factors that continue to have a negative impact on coal miners’ financial results include limited transportation capacity of railroad infrastruct ..read more

Over the past week, thermal coal indices on the European market plunged below 115 USD/t, pressured by lower consumption, as well as a significant reduction in gas prices, caused by the weakening of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, which had previously supported the market. US coal shipments, that could not be delivered through the port in Baltimore, due to the collapsed bridge, were diverted to Hampton Roads terminals, including Norfolk. Gas quotations at the TTF hub corrected downward to 321 USD/1,000 m3 (-29 USD/1,000 m3 w-o-w) as the threat of escalation between Iran and Israel see ..read more

Under the Ministry of Coal Industry of Kuzbass, in January-March 2024 coal mining enterprises in Kuzbass produced 52.8 mio t of coal (-1.1 mio t or -2.0% y-o-y). The production of coking coal during this period totaled 17.3 mio t (+0.3 mio t or +1.8% y-o-y), whereas thermal coal extraction volumes plunged to 35.5 mio t (-1.4 mio t or -3.8% y-o-y). Coal companies produced 34.5 mio t (-0.8 mio t or -2.3% y-o-y) at open-pit mines and 18.3 mio t (-0.3 mio t or -1.6% y-o-y) through underground mining. As of April 01, 2024, coal stocks in Kuzbass climbed to 21.5 mio t (+1.8 mio t or +9.1% vs. April ..read more

Kolmar, coking coal producer in Yakutia, has halted two washing plants and limited the load of the third plant by 50% since March 12 due to excessive coal stockpiles. The accumulation of excess coal stockpile amounting to 1 mio t caused by difficulties in shipments as a result of congestion at the railway infrastructure in Yakutia and the Eastern Range. The situation is further exacerbated by ongoing maintenance on RZD network connected with Vanino terminals, as well as issues with the approval and taking cargoes in this direction. In April, the company has to load 0.57 mio t into railcars, bu ..read more

Over the past week, thermal coal quotations on the European market saw high volatility in prices, which ranged between 117 USD/t and 26 USD/t amid a sharp rise in gas indices to a 3-month high, driven by the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, along with a shrinking share of renewable generation. Moreover, the profitability of coal and gas generation remained negative, given the rising cost of CO2 permits. The share of renewables in Germany’s energy mix totaled 71% last week, down 7% from the previous week, while the share of fossil fuels expanded from 22% to 29%. Gas quotation ..read more

Global coal trade has really picked up pace in recent months, and is now fully back to pre-Covid levels. In Jan-Dec 2023, global seaborne coal loadings increased by +5.8% yo-y to 1,339.5 mln t (excluding cabotage), based on vessel tracking data from AXS Marine. In Jan-Feb 2024 the positive trend continued, with global coal loadings increasing by +9.3% y-o-y to 213.9 mln t, from 195.6 mln t in the same period last year. In Jan-Feb 2024, exports from Indonesia increased by +17.4% y-o-y to 83.7 mln t, whilst from Australia were up +16.6% y-o-y to 56.4 mln t. From Russia exports declined by -18.2 ..read more

Over the past week, thermal coal quotations on the European market kept swinging in the range of 117-121 USD/t. The indices are under pressure caused by falling demand, growing inventories at ARA terminals and a significant increase in RES generation. German wind output jumped by 49% to 22.7 GW, hard coal generation shrank by 22% to 1.71 GW, while spot market power prices slumped by 25% to €45.5/MW. Gas quotations at the TTF hub strengthened to 303 USD/1,000 m3 (+15 USD/1,000 m3 w-o-w) on lower Norwegian gas supplies. ARA coal stocks rose by 7% to 6.4 mio t (+0.41 mio t w-o-w). South ..read more

OTEKO coal terminal in Taman lowered its coal transshipment tariffs for Q2 2024 from 32-38 USD/t to 18-19 USD/t. However, export shipments from Kuzbass to remain unprofitable, so the decline in coal exports will continue and infrastructure capacity will remain idle. Coal rail shipments to Taman in January-April 2024 may fall short of 7.6 mio t (-82% y-o-y). With international market prices falling to the level of 2015-2016, the transshipment rate and railroad tariffs should be in line with the level of those years, but OTECO’s proposed rate exceeds by 2 USD/t and the railroad tariff is higher ..read more