Coal Journal No. 25/2017
WTI and Brent crude have lost 3.7% and 3.6% this week and down 9.6% and 5.7% respectively year-on-year. Thermal coal, however, down only slightly by 0.25% this week and gained 42.15% year-on-year, supported by perception among traders that China’s consumption will grow on warmer temperatures and difficulties from domestic producers to boost output.
PT Pasar Komoditas Jakarta & Politics of Commodities
Inas N Zubir, lawmaker in the House Commission VI from Hanura Party (led by Oesman Sapta/Wiranto) recently criticized Enggartiasto Lukita, minister of trade, who is politician from NasDem Party (led by Surya Paloh), for his reluctance in disclosing owners of PT Pasar Komoditas Jakarta (PKJ), a company appointed to organize trading of raw sugar in Indonesia.
Expecting a ‘New’ Bumi Resources?
Main creditors of Bumi Resources (BUMI) have their representatives in the new board of commissioners and directors. China Investment Corporation (CIC), for example, is represented by Jinping Ma and Benjamin Mao in the board of commissioners. Thomas M Kearny from Argentum Fund (bondholder) has also been appointed new commissioner.
Coal Journal No. 26/2017: Small Players
WTI and Brent crude oil declined further to US$44.4 and US$46.8 per barrel respectively Thursday (June 15), but thermal coal returned to above US$80 per ton. The commodity was not affected by recent Fed rate hike even though reports pointed to year-on-year 12% output growth in China last month.
Pertamina & The Expired Blocks
State-owned oil and gas company Pertamina has yet to formally responding the government’s offer for operation of eight oil and gas blocks, whose contracts will expire soon. The Company, however, sent out strong signal to develop the blocks without necessarily engaging third-party investors.
Coal Journal No. 23/2017
Thermal coal returned to above US$80 per ton Thursday (June 8) following reports about strong import by China and flat output in the United States of America. China’s coal import in May climbed 16.61% year-on-year, while US coal production for the week ended June 3rd, 2017 was flat compared to the previous week.
RDMP Pertamina: Too Slow
The Refinery Development Master Plan (RDMP) was launched in 2015, with the intention of modifying existing refineries. To this day, however, there hasn’t been much progress. One of the reasons for the delay being the not-yet-decided partnership with Pertamina due to lack of clarity with fiscal incentive.
Coal Journal No. 22/2017
Thermal coal regained ground to close at US$76.9 per ton Monday (June 5). Indonesian government, meanwhile, set reference price for June at US$75.46 per ton (FOB vessel) for coal with calorific value of 6322 Kcal/Kg and total moisture of 8%. This is the lowest level in the past eight months.
Mandatory Domestic Processing in Action: Bauxite
Unlike nickel, aluminium continues its rally in the past few months despite relaxation of bauxite ore export in Indonesia. State-owned miner PT Aneka Tambang (ANTM) Tbk has been granted export license for 850,000 tons of washed bauxite, but its impact will be insignificant to the aluminium market.
Revisiting Indo Tambangraya
Indo Tambangraya Megah (ITMG), coal producing subsidiary of Banpu Pcl (Thailand), booked net profit of US$57.18 million in the first quarter of 2017, surged from US$23 million in the corresponding period of 2016. Like other coal producers, ITMG was lifted by significantly higher margins, thanks to 41% jump in average selling price of coal.