Semirara To Reduce Coal Exports
MANILA, Philippines - Listed firm Semirara Mining Corporation (SCC) will be trimming down its coal exports to 2.0 million tonnes this year from a higher base of 3.5 million in 2011.
According to SCC vice chairman Isidro A. Consunji, the decision to cut on its exports has been anchored on the growing demand for coal of the domestic market.
The Semirara mine's production volume has been placed at 7.0 million tonnes, and half of that catered to the demands of the export market in the past year.
"Last year, our exports reached 3.5 million tonnes, but this year, we will bring that down to just 2.0 million tonnes," he said in an interview.
Consunji reiterated that "domestic demand has been growing, so why do we have to export if it is needed here in the Philippines? We are also getting a good price by catering to the needs of the domestic market." The company's major market at present is the power plant in Cebu of Global Business Power Corporation of the Ty group.
He further noted "we will stop exporting once the Calaca (plant) expansion is completed," referring to the 300-megawatt capacity addition set for its subsidiary's power project in Batangas.
"Once our expansion reaches commercial operation, we will need another 1.6 million tonnes. So by then, we cannot allot volumes anymore for export," he stressed. The expanded Calaca plant is expected on stream around 2014.
It has been emphasized that under the terms of arrangements with its customers, SCC local sales are billed 80-percent upon delivery and 20-percent upon release of coal quality test; while those for export sales are being billed 100-percent after release of coal quality test.
Semirara is to-date the country's biggest coal producer. At its current volume of production, it can provide more than half of the country's total coal requirements which had been placed at 12.0 million tonnes.
It has been the wish of the Department of Energy (DOE) that it would be able to discover another field with an output matching the scale of the Semirara coal mine.
The Calaca plant, even when it was still under the ownership of the National Power Corporation, has been a major user of Semirara coal.
Consunji admitted that their interest in buying the Calaca facility was actually anchored more on keeping the market for its coal production.
