Glencore Xstrata PLC (GLEN.LN) Monday said it would abandon plans for a new coal shipping facility in Queensland state, a move that reflects sustained weakness in Australia's once-booming coal export industry.
Glencore Xstrata PLC (GLEN.LN) Monday said it would abandon plans for a
new coal shipping facility in
Queensland
state, a move that reflects sustained weakness in
Australia
's
once-booming coal export industry.
The proposed Balaclava Island Coal Export Terminal, which was designed to ship
35 million tons a year from a site 40 kilometers south of the city of
Rockhampton
,
would have opened up a new route for coal exports from the resource-rich Bowen
and
Surat
basins to buyers in
Asia
.
Xstrata's Australian coal unit spent several years examining plans for the
terminal's development prior to the company's merger with Glencore
International this month.
However, following completion of the merger and a review of the project,
"Glencore Xstrata has decided to cease its work on the project, effective
immediately," the company said in an emailed statement. It cited poor
market conditions in the Australian coal industry and excess port capacity in
Queensland
.
The company said it also had "concerns about the industry's medium-term
outlook."
Coal prices plunged to multiyear lows last year in tandem with reduced demand
in countries such as
Japan
and
China
, the
latter
Australia
's
biggest trading partner. Yancoal Australia Ltd. (YAL.AU), another major Australian
producer, recently said it expected coal prices to remain under pressure
"for some time."
Given subdued demand, the coal shipping industry is faced with more shipping
capacity than it needs. Australian coal producers have shut pits and delayed
investments, as low prices and weak Asian demand have made many of the
country's mines unprofitable.
Port Waratah Coal Services, the operator of the world's largest coal-export
facility at Newcastle, in the Australian state of New South Wales, has delayed
plans to build a new coal terminal that would have expanded its shipping
capacity by more than 80%, and may decide to scrap the project altogether, it
said last month.
Διαβάστε ακόμα
Τρι, 24 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 19:58
Τρι, 24 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 19:54
Τετ, 18 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 18:32
Τετ, 18 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 18:27
Τρι, 17 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 20:01