Domestic

COAL

Country has constraints in availability of domestic coal: Govt

The country is facing constraints in the domestic coal availability and the rest of the dry fuel demand needs to be met with imports, according to the coal ministry. The ministry has also emphasised that coal block holders both captive and commercial have a major role to play in mitigating the coal shortfall situation. Domestic coal production is about 800 million tonnes, according to the coal additional secretary, who is also the chairperson of an inter-ministerial panel on coal linkages for the power sector. The inter-ministerial panel met recently to consider the requests for coal linkages to central/state sector power plants and to review the status of existing coal linkages. The additional coal secretary stated that "there are constraints in domestic coal availability and the domestic coal production is roughly about 800 MT. Therefore, the rest of the coal demand of the country has to be met through imports from other countries", according to the minutes of the meeting on fuel linkages.”

CIL will supply more coal than its commitment to electricity plants

Coal India Limited, the largest coal-producing company in a bid to resolve the electricity and coal supply shortage will now supply more coal to the thermal electricity generating plants. The company has exceeded the committed limit and pushed the supply to avoid interruption or failure in the power supply. According to the PTI data, total of 85 thermal power plants are dependent on domestic coal and have critical stock, while 11 such factories dependent on imported coal have a critical stock level. A total of eight power plants are not in operation. On average in April, Coal India Limited supplied 1.66 Million Tonnes of coal per day to power utilities. According to the ministry Power utilities coal despatch has gone up by 18.15 % to 61.81 MT during April, 2022 as compared to 52.32 MT in April, 2020. Fall in import prices of coal have been observed since the end of October last year. However, international prices are still at high level..

Supply crunch: Coal mine expansion norms eased

The Union Environment Ministry relaxed the mandatory compliance norms of coal mining expansion projects while citing a higher demand for coal amidst the ongoing power crisis. According to the revised norms, coal mines with environmental clearances (EC) to expand by 40 per cent can now expand up to 50 per cent. This could be done without any environment impact assessment or public consultation. The ministry in an office memorandum (OM) said that the change was made after the coal ministry raised an alarm on the pressure on the domestic coal supply. It has been requested that existing coal blocks should be allowed for expansion of production capacity keeping in view the available reserves in the coal block and

compliance of the conditions of the previous EC. India looking to boost coal output by up to 100 MT, reopen closed mines

India is looking to boost its coal output by 75100 million tonnes in the next two-to-three years by restarting closed mines, the country’s coal secretary A K Jain said. As per the Ministry, extractable reserve in the closed/discontinued coal mines is around 380 million tonnes, 30-40 million tonnes of coal can be easily extracted from the mines. the continuation of mining activities will help in increasing coal supply to TPPs while creating employment opportunities for local people. Coal India Ltd. (CIL) will offer its 20 discontinued underground coal mines to the private sector to reopen and bring into production on revenue sharing model. India, the world’s second largest producer, importer and consumer of coal, produced 777.2 million tonnes of the fuel during the year ended March 2022 and burnt over a billion tonnes.. .

Govt PSUs to surrender nonoperational coal mines by July

Central and State government companies have been given time till July this year to surrender their non-operational coal mines with the Coal Ministry. On April 7, the government approved the policy for providing a one-time window to the Central and State PSUs to surrender non-operational mines without penalty (forfeiture of bank guarantee) and citing without any reason. As of December 2021, 45 mines out of 73 allotted to government companies remained nonoperational and the due date of commencement of operations in case of 19 coal mines is already over.

Under this scheme, the PSUs, which have been allotted mines under the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act or the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, through allotment route, may surrender its nonoperational coal block. It is for cases where the mine opening permission could not be obtained by the allottee. The ministry will return the performance bank guarantee upon surrender of the mine block. All pending show cause notices issued for delays would also be considered withdrawn.

India’s coal import decision to reverse 10% YTD drop and add tonne miles

In a notice released on 5 May 2022, India’s Ministry of Power instructed all power plants to increase their imports of coal. Specifically, the Ministry demands that power plants designed to run on domestic coal start importing at least 10% of their requirements. The government’s intervention comes as many states have suffered prolonged power outages since April and the country is two months into an unprecedented heatwave. Despite a year-todate increase in domestic coal production of 9% y/y there has still been a lack of coal due to a 10% y/y drop in imports. Coal imports have been lower than pre-COVID levels since June 2021 and the recent Indonesian export ban significantly hurt volumes in early 2022. In addition, recent coal price increases have resulted in lower imports as they caused import dependent power plants to run at a loss and to cut production. India will attempt to increase shipments from Australia and Indonesia, their main trade partners, but supply side difficulties could emerge. In Australia, recent heavy rainfall on the east coast is challenging coal logistics, and a requirement to sell 25% domestically limits Indonesian coal

Centre allows 50% concession in revenue share to promote coal gasification

Union Minister of Coal, Mines & Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi on Friday said the government has allowed concession of 50% in revenue share for coal gasification. The minister also pitched for options like manufacturing Hydrogen from Coal to help India become energy independent. Further, If the successful bidder consumes the coal produced either in its own plant(s) or plant of its holding, subsidiary, affiliate, associate for coal gasification or liquefaction or sells the coal for coal gasification or liquefaction on an yearly basis, subject to conditions that at least 10% of scheduled coal production as per approved mining plan for that year shall be consumed or sold for gasification or liquefaction, then the bidder can avail of concessions. Further, the ministry highlighted that Syn-Gas produced from coal can be used to produce Gaseous Fuels such as Hydrogen (Blue coupled with CCUS), Substitute Natural Gas (SNG or Methane), Di-Methyl Ether (DME), Liquid Fuels such as Methanol, Ethanol, Synthetic diesel and Chemicals like Methanol derivatives, Olefins, Propylene, Mono-Ethylene Glycol (MEG), nitrogenous fertilizers including Ammonia, DRI, Industrial Chemicals along with Power Generation.

Indian petcoke producers raise domestic prices amid supply tightness: sources

Indian petcoke producers have increased their domestic prices for May amid tight supply and elevated global thermal coal prices due to countries struggling to replace Russian coal, market sources said May 4.

India’s largest petcoke producer Reliance Industries Ltd., or RIL, increased its offer by Rupee 441/mt ($5.77/mt) from April, according to a note to traders seen by S&P Global Commodity Insights. RIL’s new petcoke offer for May is Rupee 22,257/mt. Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd., or CPCL, a subsidiary of state-run Indian Oil Corp., has revised its price for domestic petcoke to Rupee 22,070/mt for May, up Rupee 40/mt from April, according to a similar note to traders. Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd., or MRPL, sharply increased its petcoke price by Rupee 4,140/mt to Rupee 20,640/mt for supply by road in May and to Rupee 20,340/mt for supply by railway rake..

RAILWAYS & SHIPPING

Railways operates 237-wagon single freight train ‘SheshNaag’ to mitigate coal crisis in the country

South East Central Railway (SECR) zone enhanced the swift operation by clubbing together four freight trains into one unit to ease the crisis of coal shortage faced by the thermal power plants. Amid the ongoing coal crisis this is the first time, a single long haul freight train was operated by the Railways as ‘Super Shesh-Naag’—powered by 4 electric locomotives & amalgamating four freight trains comprising of 237 wagons is supplying the coal to power plants with critically low stock. Korba happens to be India’s biggest coal and power-producing district and alone produces 16.56 percent of the country’s coal. The Chhattisgarh-based South Eastern Coalfield Limited (SECL), an undertaking of Coal India Limited, has been pressed into action to further increase daily production by 1.25 lakh ton.

85% of wagons allocated for coal transportation

The Indian Railways has allocated 85% of its open wagons in the country to transport coal in order to cater to the high demand from states, senior officials said. According to one of the officials, of the 131,403 open wagons owned by the railways, 113,880 have been put into service for coal transport. A coal train usually gets up to 84 wagons. On a daily basis, railways is loading around 28,470 wagons with coal to meet the demand from power plants. According to this official, the railways is running three to five trains together at 122 locations across Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh.Railways ministry data shows that nearly 95% of coal transported by them comes from Coal India’s reserves, while the remaining is imported. The national transporter has already increased the operating duration of rakes by 2,500km.

Coal transport on KothagudemSathupally railway line to begin soon

Newly laid railway line from Kothagudem to Sathupalli would be made operational from May 20 for coal transportation from SCCL’s coal mines at Sathupalli, informed the company Director (Finance) N Balram. Speaking to media here on Tuesday he said the 55 kilometre long railway was laid at a cost of Rs 650 crore. Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) provided 70 per cent of the

project funding and remaining by the railways. The first coal load from Sathupalli was expected on May 20. The railway line would stop coal transportation by road and around 600 trips of lorries that were transporting coal every day would be off road. It would reduce pollution, traffic and accidents. It was expected to produce 10 million tonnes of coal from Sathupalli. Public hearing for VK-7 OC was over and the coal production might commence in Sept or Oct. Environmental and forest clearance for the Naini project was given and production would begin in Oct. Public hearing for the Rompedu project at Yellandu was yet to be conducted, Balram said..

STEEL

Centre waives import duty on some raw materials for steel industry

The government has waived customs duty on the import of some raw materials, including coking coal and ferronickel, used by the steel industry, a move which will lower the cost for the domestic industry and reduce the prices. Also, to increase domestic availability, the duty on exports of iron ore has been hiked up to 50 per cent, and a few steel intermediaries to 15 per cent, according to a notification. The import duty on ferronickel, coking coal, PCI coal has been cut from 2.5 per cent, while the duty on coke and semi-coke has been slashed from 5 per cent to 'nil'. The tax on the export of iron ores and concentrates has been hiked to 50 per cent, from 30 per cent, while that on iron pellets a 45 per cent duty has been imposed. Duty on pig iron and spiegeleisen in pigs, blocks, or other primary formats; flat-rolled products of iron or non- alloy steel, of a width of 600 mm or more, hot- rolled, not clad, plated or coated; Flat-rolled products of iron or non-alloy steel, of a width of 600 mm or more, cold- rolled (coldreduced), not clad, plated or coated, Flat-rolled products of iron or non-alloy steel, of a width of 600 mm or more, clad, plated or coated have been hiked to 15 per cent from 'Nil' currently.

Steel ministry in regular talks with railways, coal ministries for smooth fuel supply: Kulaste

The steel ministry is in regular talks with other ministries, including the railways and coal, to ensure smooth supply of coal to steel manufacturers, Union minister Faggan Singh Kulaste said. “We are regularly speaking to various states and ministries especially railways and coal,” he said, replying to a question related to coal supplies being impacted to steel plants. Integrated steel players use coal to run their power units which supply electricity for captive use, while secondary players make steel using Directly Reduced Iron (DRI). About 70 per cent of the DRI is made using thermal coal, supply of which is in constraint in the country. On the rising prices of steel, the minister said the rates are market-driven and will calm down accordingly. As per industry estimates, rates of hot rolled coil are trading in the range of Rs 73,000-Rs 75,000 per tonne.

Desperate for coal, India’s metal makers hunt for fuel overseas

A coal crisis in India has forced the country’s sponge iron producers to scour the planet for supplies to keep their mills running as they are deprived of the fossil fuel at home. In the central state of Chhattisgarh, a hub for

iron ore and steelmaking, sponge iron makers are running at about 60% of usual levels and could be forced to shut down completely if they cannot get more coal, the Chhattisgarh Sponge Iron Manufacturers Association said in April. India’s sponge iron industry, the world’s biggest, may ship in as much as 35-million tonnes of coal this financial year, 30% more than a year earlier. Jindal Steel & Power, which is running its sponge iron plants at 40% capacity as it does not have enough fuel, has contracted orders for 150,000 tonnes of thermal coal each for May and June from SA and Mozambique. SA and Australian traders have been flooding the industry group with queries on the quality and prices of coal that mills need, as .they know that India will have to import a lot of coal because of the energy crisis Indian steelmakers face heat on Europe deals over export tax

Indian steel firms could be forced to cancel European orders and suffer losses after an overnight decision to impose export taxes on steel products, V R Sharma, managing director at Jindal Steel and Power said. India imposed an export tax of 15% on eight steel products at a time steelmakers are looking to make up for tepid local demand by increasing market share in Europe, whose supplies have been hit by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Sharma said Indian steelmakers have about 2 million tonnes in pending export orders, mostly to Europe, which are stuck in ports or in various stages of production. "This could possibly lead to force majeures. And the customer has done no wrong here and he doesn't deserve to be treated that way," he said. Russia and Ukraine exported 46.7 million tonnes in 2020, mostly to the European Union, the world's second biggest importer of steel, according to the World Steel Association. The decision could raise industry costs by as much as $300 million. CEMENT

GCCA India releases report promoting blended cement

The Global Cement & Concrete Association (GCCA) India has released a report entitled ‘Blended Cement – Green, Durable & Sustainable’ to promote the advantages of different types of blended cement over Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC). The report is a collation of the information about blended cement and its advantages. It highlights the performance improvement possible through this replacement, making blended cement an attractive means to achieve sustainable infrastructure development. It also showcases the benefits of different blended types of cement over OPC based on hydration, microstructure and permeability, rheology and workability, strength development, shrinkage (chemical, autogenous, and drying) and cracks, leaching, alkali-aggregate reactivity, sulphate attack, reinforcement corrosion, longterm durability of construction and usage in preparation of high strength concrete