Teck Resources signs coal throughput deal with Westshore Terminals

Houston — Teck Resources and Westshore Terminals agreed to a new throughput deal for metallurgical coal exports starting in April 2021.

The new deal will see 5-7 million mt of met coal exported between April and December 2021, and an additional 5-7 million mt annually in subsequent years until a cumulative 32.25 million mt is exported, according to an Aug. 25 statement.

Teck said the shipments in the new deal will be at fixed loading charges, but financial terms were not made public.

"The proposed agreement with Westshore complements upgrades underway at Neptune Terminals and capacity at Ridley Terminals," Teck said. "Together, these will provide greater flexibility and optionality for Teck shipments and contribute to reduced costs and improved performance and reliability throughout the company's steelmaking coal supply chain."

The two parties are currently in a 10-year agreement for an annual volume of 19 million mt that will expire on March 31, 2021.

Westshore is the largest coal export terminal on the west coast in North America and is served by Canadian Pacific and BNSF Railway.

According to its quarterly earnings statement released in early August, Westshore said it shipped 15.39 million mt through the first six months of 2020, up from 14.49 million mt in the same period a year ago, while Teck said in its quarterly statement, its "proportion of volumes going through Westshore increased with the five-month shutdown at Neptune Bulk Terminals in progress."