Chinese coal provinces set less aggressive output goals for '24

The easing of the targets suggests that China, the world's largest coal producer, is gradually stepping back from its strenuous efforts over many years to safeguard national energy security by continuously lifting domestic coal output, Mysteel Global notes.

The pullback likely reflects the easing risk of global energy shortages as well as the looming coal oversupply worldwide, sources observed, though significantly, the move is also in line with China's escalated safety regulations on mining activities this year, they added.

For example, the local government in North China's Shanxi province has decided to conduct strict safety inspections on mining activities at all coal mines under its jurisdiction till May 31. The government authorities will be checking to see that no mine is producing beyond its approved capacity, that output is at 'normal' production intensity, and that the number of mine workers employed underground does not exceed regulations, as reported.

Authorities in Shanxi, the country's largest coal mining hub, stressed that they will keep coal production at a stable level to help ensure national energy supply, according to the Provincial Energy Work Meeting held on February 25.

A market watcher commented that the province's 2024 target for maintaining steady coal output – rather than lifting output further – might hint that its coal output may not grow substantially after registering robust on-year increases of 10.5%, 8.7% and 3.3% over 2021-2023, respectively.

Inner Mongolia, the country's second largest coal producing region, also aims to stabilize its coal output at around 1.2 billion tonnes in 2024, compared with its realized output of 1.21 billion tonnes last year, a record high for the region, Mysteel Global learned. The data is contained in a government work report released on January 30.

The region's coal output growth last year had slowed markedly to 0.2% on an annual basis, compared with the steep jump of 10.1% recorded in 2022, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

East China's Shandong province also plans to produce a total of 85 million tonnes of coal this year, marking a decline of 2.4% compared with its output at 87.06 million tonnes last year, Mysteel Global learned.

By contrast, Northwest China's Shaanxi province expects to slightly raise its coal production to 780 million tonnes this year, according to its provincial government work report presented on January 26. This means a 2.4% rise from its year-ago production level, generally maintaining the rising pace of the province's coal production last year, the statistics show.

Northwest China's Xinjiang, boasting more potential for lifting coal output among the major mining hubs, will also boost its coal production by a substantial 9.5% on year to reach 500 million tonnes this year, according to its government work report, Mysteel Global notes.

Written by Tammy Yang, yangfangb@mysteel.com

Edited by Russ McCulloch, russ.mcculloch@mysteel.com