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COAL

Indonesia’s Sept coal price

at record low, miners say
oversupply worsens

Indonesia has set the coal benchmark price
at the lowest level on record amid subdued
demand from big buyers, while the country’s
miners group said a global oversupply of coal
was worsening, Reuters reported
The government set its coal benchmark
price (HBA) COAL-HBA-ID at $49.42 per
tonne, the Energy and Mineral Resources
Ministry said on Tuesday, down from $50.34
year, with analysts expecting annual electricity M&A per tonne last month.
demand to fall for the first time in almost four September marked a sixth consecutive
decades. AGL to acquire Amaysim’s month of decline in the benchmark price,
which is used in spot trading in Indonesia, the
Click Energy Group in world’s top thermal coal exporter.
“COVID-19 has resulted in a 20% drop
Australia India is yet to recover post-lockdown,” energy
CONSUMPTION in coal imports by China and demand from
South Korea’s power use to AGL Energy has signed an agreement to ministry spokesman Agus Pribadi said in the
statement.
acquire all shares of Click Energy Group,
dip 3% in 2020 a wholly-owned subsidiary of Amaysim diversify markets for its coal and is targeting
Indonesia is increasingly looking to
Australia, in a deal valued at $115m.
South Korea’s electricity consumption is Click Energy sells electricity to its Vietnam as potential growth market.
feared to shrink more than 3% in 2020 as the customers across New South Wales (NSW), Coal miners everywhere are in “survival
coronavirus outbreak batters the economy, a Victoria, Queensland and South Australia. It mode”, Hendra Sinadia, executive director of
report showed Tuesday. also acts as a gas utility for retail customers in Indonesia Coal Miners Association (ICMA),
In its latest report, KEPCO Research NSW and Victoria. The company also owns said at a virtual seminar on Tuesday, as the
Management Institute predicted the country’s On The Move, a utilities connection service global coal oversupply situation worsens.
2020 power sales to dip up to 3.3% on-year in provider. A global demand correction due to the
the worst case scenario. AGL managing director and CEO Brett coronavirus pandemic is expected at around
The projection is based on an assumption Redman said: “The purchase of the Click 100mn tonnes, Sinadia said, citing IHS
that Asia’s fourth-largest economy may Energy business and its connection service Markit, while output levels of the world’s
contract 3 percent in 2020 from a year earlier provider, On The Move, is another step biggest suppliers are not coming down
due to the fallout from the coronavirus towards AGL achieving our target of 4.5mn significantly.
pandemic. The figure would flirt with the customer services by 2024.
3.6% on-year decline recorded in 1998 in the “The acquisition includes approximately
aftermath of the country’s foreign exchange 215,000 energy services to customers, BHP to mine Australian coal
crisis. It also would mark the third on-year fall increasing AGL’s total services provided
in electricity sales since data tracking began in to almost 4.2mn services to homes and using greener energy
1961. South Korea’s electricity consumption businesses across Australia and building on
also fell 1.1% last year. the strong growth achieved in the financial
Pounded by the COVID-19 outbreak, the year of 2020. “With AGL’s cost-to-serve BHP said it had signed a deal to support the
country’s power usage has been on the decline already below that of Click Energy’s, we development of new solar and wind farms
this year. Electricity consumption contracted believe we will be able to unlock further in Australia’s Queensland state as part of a
1.8% on-year in the first quarter of the year value as these customers share in further company-wide effort to use more renewable
and 4.2% in the second quarter. benefits from our continuing investment in energy.
For all of 2020, industrial electricity sales automation, optimisation and digitisation.” The miner, which runs nine metallurgical
are expected to decrease a maximum 5.1%, AGL says the acquisition lies in line with coal operations in the Bowen Basin through
while household use is projected to increase its growth strategy, which aims to leverage the its BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) and BHP
up to 4.6% as more people work from home. investment it has made in customer service Mitsui Coal (BMC), said the move would help
The value of electricity sales is thus forecast platforms. it cut its indirect emissions in the country by
to reach between 55.5 trillion won ($46.8bn) The latest deal follows the recent 20% over five years.
and 56.1 trillion won this year, compared with acquisitions of Perth Energy and Southern The agreement with state-owned generator
last year’s 56.6 trillion won. Phone. and retailer CleanCo comes as BHP prepares
AGL to update the market next week on a

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