The U.S. war with Iran has slowed coal’s global decline, and U.S. mining companies are positioning themselves for a windfall if the conflict continues to derail oil and gas shipments to Asia.
Coal demand — and prices — spiked most significantly in Asian economies that are heavily reliant on liquefied natural gas, an energy source that’s been constrained during the almost two-month closure of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s busiest shipping channels.
Japan and South Korea are running existing coal fleets harder, Taiwan is considering restarting mothballed plants, Japan is running lower-efficiency coal plants, and Europe is extending retirement of their coal fleet, said Anthony Knutson, the global head of thermal coal markets research for Wood Mackenzie, an energy analytics firm.
While Australia and Russia companies are poised to fill much of that growing demand, Knutson said the U.S. industry also stands to benefit if the crisis drags on and countries start looking for more and more coal.
