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John W Miller and Rebecca Smith, 煤炭的未来：天然气繁荣之下煤炭不死. 华尔街日报中文版, Jan 7, 2013
cn.wsj.com/gb/20140107/bus104141.asp
, which is translated from
John W Miller and Rebecca Smith, Gas Boom Aside, Coal Isn't Dead; Production surges in Western US for power plants at home, abroad. Wall Street Journal, Jan 7, 2013.
online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB20001424052702303332904579228160256043626
Quote:
"Coal remains the biggest source of fuel for generating electricity in the US and coal exports are growing fast. Even as coal production plunges in the green hills of Appalachia, it is booming in the open-pit mines of Wyoming and under the plains of Illinois and Indiana. * * * During the first eight months of last year, 39% of US electricity came from coal, down from 55% in 1990. Natural gas accounted for 27% through August of last year, up from 17% a decade earlier, as hydraulic fracturing technology has spurred gas production.
"Demand is being stoked by the rise of power-hungry middle classes in emerging economies, led by China and India. * * * Two-thirds of coal's growth will be driven by demand for electricity in China, the firm [consultancy Wood Mackenzie] says.
"In the US, coal is consolidating. Two counties in Wyoming account for 40% of US coal production. * * * The number of people employed in US coal mining has declined to 120,699, down nearly 15% from 20 years ago, although production has increased slightly over that time.
"Coal companies say Appalachian coal has become too expensive to mine. Ten years ago, Peabody Energy, the nation's largest coal producer, decided to move west and overseas. 'It all comes down to geology,' says CEO Greg Boyce. 'You've got a district [in the East] that's been mined for 100, 120 years; conditions were difficult.' * * * Mines in Wyoming's Powder River Basin offer a healthy future for the US coal industry, Mr Boyce says. 'We have the largest mine in the world there, and it has one of the lowest cost structures for a mine of its size,' he says." (brackets original)
"Exports are the US coal industry's brightest hope. The country shipped out 114.2 million tons in 2012, more than triple the level a decade earlier. Coal-export revenue jumped to $14.8 billion from $1.6 billion. * * * In 2012, the country's biggest coal customer was Canada, which consumed 42% of US exports. Now the top three customers are the Netherlands, Britain and China. European coal imports have boomed as its natural] gas supplies [from North Sea] taper off and it tries to wean itself from nuclear power. * * * The International Energy Agency recently warned that the US coal industry will have a difficult time competing with Indonesia, Australia and Russia in export markets, however. Some US rivals in selling coal to Asia are closer, reducing shipping fees, with lower labor and environmental costs.
Note:
(a) This is a terrific report. Unfortunately, the English-language version online does not have the two photos and a graphic that appear in print, as well as the Chinese-language version.
(b) Please view the graphic first before reading the text.
(c) Peabody Energy
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peabody_Energy
(Peabody Energy Corp "was originally founded as Peabody, Daniels & Company in 1883 by Francis Peabody [1858-1922; age 24]" and a partner [at Chicago with start-up capital, a wagon, and two mules]; Headquarters St Louis)
(i) In 1955 (not "[t]en years ago"), Sinclair Coal (based in Aurora, Missouri, near Kansas city) bought Peabody, retained the Peabody name (which was "familiar to investors due to its listing on the New York Stock Exchange" and moved the combined company's headquarters to St Louis.
(ii) The English surname Peabody: "probably a nickname for a showy dresser, from Middle English pe ‘peacock’ + body ‘body’, ‘person’" |
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发表于 1-7-2014 13:31:00
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