Coal news and updates

Coal is coming: Wyoming company aims to ship 24M tons of coal through Washington ports

If the terminals in Longview and Bellingham are approved, more than 20 million tons of coal a year could move through them.

That's just from one company.

Washington state is well positioned to become the next major hub for oil and gas refinement and exporting because of its proximity to Asia. Now, the coal industry wants in on the action.

Wyoming-based Cloud Peak Energy Resources LLC (NYSE: CLD), a major player in U.S. coal mining, wants to see the contentious proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal in Bellingham and Millennium Bulk Terminal in Longview, Wash. developed.

Then, it wants to use the terminals to ship huge quantities of coal to Asia.

The company has already made deals at both terminals. At maximum capacity, Cloud Peak would ship 16 million tons of coal a year through Gateway Pacific and 7 million to 8 million tons through Millennium Bulk.

Many in Longview and Bellingham have opposed the coal terminals because of the environmental impacts of coal. Others argue the development would bring revenue and jobs.

Cloud Peak Media Relations Manager Rick Curtsinger said advanced technology in coal mining means development has less of a negative effect on the environment.

“This can be done responsibly for decades and decades,” he said.

Kathryn Stenger, spokeswoman for the Alliance for Northwest Jobs and Exports, thinks debating whether more coal should be allowed to travel through Washington state is irrelevant.

“Coal is coming through here no matter what,” Stenger said. “The question is are we going to take advantage of it?”

If the development of the terminals were halted, coal would travel by rail through Washington state and into British Columbia, Canada.

That’s where Cloud Peak exports from now. But Curtsinger is confident that the coal industry is growing enough to export from British Columbia, Longview and Bellingham.

Last month, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) announced it was going to reduce investments in coal companies.

“The coal industry is circling the drain right now,” said Eric de Place, policy director at the Sightline Institute, a public policy think tank in Seattle.

Curtsinger said Asia wants more coal. Cloud Peak Energy’s main customers are Japan and South Korea.

“It’s going to be decades before Asian demand [for coal] peaks,” Stenger said.

And the U.S. is in a position to provide that coal for a while. There is enough coal in the Powder River Basin that it could be exported for at least the next 100 years.

Compared to developing the infrastructure for other natural resources, such as oil and gas, coal is quicker to get started and cheaper, Curtsinger said, and that’s the big selling point.

source: http://www.bizjournals.com