Mining Journal > Production and Markets > Indian coal demand may triple in next two decades

India’s coal demand may more than triple in the next two decades as Asia’s second-fastest growing major economy seeks the fuel to generate electricity and run steel and cement plants.

The nation may consume more than 2,000Mt of coal by 2030, Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal said in New Delhi today. India produces 530Mt of the fuel a year and imports about 67Mt annually. The South Asian country has coal reserves of about 277,000Mt, he said.

Coal currently fires 53% of installed power generation capacity in India and the government expects the fuel to remain the most important source of energy for the country.

India and neighbour China may become the dominant importers of coal during the next 10 years, displacing Western nations, according to Deutsche Bank AG.

The nation’s coal output is expected to rise to 1,000Mt a year in the next eight to nine years, according to Jaiswal. That’s 30% of China’s estimated annual production this year.

State-owned Coal India Ltd plans to buy mines in Indonesia, Australia, South Africa and the U.S., Jaiswal said in a statement today.

Coal India mines most of India’s proven reserves of about 110,000Mt and the country’s deposits are expected to last for more than 100 years, according to Jaiswal.

India’s coal purchases from overseas are expected to grow to 200Mt by March 2016 from 80Mt planned in the year ending March 2011, Partha Bhattacharyya, chairman of Coal India, said at the conference.

Rising demand in India may drive up international coal prices, said Bhattacharyya. The government plans to sell a 10% stake in Coal India in an initial public offer next month.

Coal is used to fire 87,858MW of India’s installed capacity of 164,509MW as of Aug. 31, according to the Central Electricity Authority.

Sep 24 (Bloomberg)