Global Coal Roundup: China-Australia trade ban; Whitehaven cuts output guidance

Asia

China: Beijing authorities told the owners of more than A$1 billion of banned Australian coal to look for other buyers, as China will not allow the shipments to be unloaded at its ports, The Australian reported Jan. 14. According to industry sources, the trade ban is expected to continue beyond March despite China experiencing a cold winter and paying a premium to buy coal from other suppliers.

* China Coal Energy Co. Ltd. said Jan. 15 that it produced 110 million tonnes of coal in 2020, increasing 8% from 101.8 Mt in 2019. Full-year coal sales increased 14.9% year over year to 265.7 Mt. The figure included self-produced commercial coal sales of 111.2 Mt, increasing 9% from 101.9 Mt in 2019.

Japan: Japanese trading company Itochu Corp. said it will divest from its thermal coal assets to promote decarbonization, in line with a new three-year management strategy. The company outlined its strategy for fiscal 2022-2024 in a Jan. 13 release, saying it will also work to reinforce initiatives for environmentally friendly products as well as circular economy businesses and services.

Australia

* ASX-listed Whitehaven Coal Ltd. lowered the upper end of its fiscal 2021 managed run-of-mine coal production guidance to 22.5 Mt, compared to an original estimate of 21.0 Mt to 22.8 Mt. The company also increased the lower end of its managed coal sales guidance to 19.0 Mt, up from a range of 18.5 Mt to 20.0 Mt. Whitehaven produced 5.1 Mt of managed run-of-mine coal in its fiscal second quarter, surging 64% year over year from 3.1 Mt, while managed saleable coal output increased 29% to 3.9 Mt. Total managed coal sales for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2020, inched 2% higher to 4.5 Mt.

Europe

Poland: Polish state-run utilities Enea SA and TAURON Polska Energia SA will divest from their coal assets in a bid to augment offshore wind investment, Reuters reported Jan. 18, citing a news conference with Artur Sobon, the country's deputy State Assets Minister. The state utilities agreed to collaborate on joint offshore wind projects in the Baltic Sea, according to the report.