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GlencoreXstrata CEO Ivan Glasenberg, who served in the old Glencore for 22 years prior to the merger with Xstrata, is a coal bull who is keen to boost the company’s coal position in South Africa.

The Switzerland-domiciled but South African-born Glasenberg spent many a trading day in the coalfields of South Africa’s Mpumalanga province before walking the corridors of corporate power in Baar and London.

Read more at: http://www.miningweekly.com/article/glencorexstrata-keen-to-boost-position-in-coal-2014-03-14

A government official said that Indonesia will allow coal production in 2014 to match last year’s levels, pulling back from its earlier attempts to reduce output.

The world’s top thermal coal exporting nation had in January targeted capping production at 397 million tonne, a cut of 5.7% from the 2013 figure. The move was aimed at helping support coal prices that are now at four-year lows and securing supplies to meet growing domestic demand.

But coal companies have said they need to boost output to compensate for declining prices and are planning increases despite government threats of sanctions.

The top 6 producers in Indonesia all aim to boost production in 2014 to compensate for continuing low prices.

Indonesia ships USD 2 billion worth of coal a month to power plants across Asia. A failure to rein in production by the Southeast Asian nation could keep a lid on coal prices and increase market competition as rival supplier Australia is also boosting output.

Read more at:  http://www.steelguru.com/international_news/Indonesia_relaxes_coal_output_cap_as_miners_aim_for_volumes/334530.html

U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernst Moniz said he would “welcome consultation” with U.S. Congress on altering the U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export approval process to allow the Department of Energy (DOE) to have sway over the destination of LNG exports. The invasion of Russian military into Ukraine – with Russian President Vladimir Putin threatening to seize U.S. assets in Russia if the United States and its allies impose sanctions – has generated discussions of how the surge in U.S. oil and gas production thanks to the shale boom could benefit not only the United States but its allies worldwide.

Read more at: http://www.rigzone.com/news/oil_gas/a/131946/Moniz_Open_on_Talks_for_Amending_LNG_Export_Process#sthash.Vkg5OUmT.dpuf

“Section 3 of the Natural Gas Act prohibits the import or export of natural gas, including liquefied natural gas (LNG), from or to a foreign country without prior approval from the Department of Energy (DOE),” according to the Energy Department.

Action on this issue is within the control of the executive branch. In other words, the U.S. Department of Energy under President Obama can approve applications to export liquefied natural gas. However, the administration has been slow in doing so. Two bills in Congress would change that.

Read more: http://www.forbes.com/sites/stuartanderson/2014/03/04/heres-one-thing-we-can-do-about-russia-and-ukraine/

American technology company General Electric (GE) Co. has stated that it has chosen Indonesia as the country in which to launch its US$1.4 billion distributed power business, which concentrates on smaller-scale energy generation.

GE officially introduced its distributed power business in Jakarta on Tuesday to tap into the archipelago’s future energy blueprint.

Read more at: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/02/26/ge-picks-indonesia-launch-14-billion-new-business.html

Indonesia will cap coal output at about 400 million metric tons this year, 5 percent less than 2013’s level, to stem declining prices, the government said.

The country will enforce sanctions against companies that mine more coal that approved, according to Edi Prasodjo, Coal Business Director at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry. Penalties include suspensions and cuts in production allocations for the coming year, he said in an interview on Feb. 7.

Read more at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-10/indonesia-to-limit-coal-production-this-year-to-support-prices.html

The Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, Taqa, is continuing to move forward with its plans to develop a 100 MW, mass burn waste to energy facility near the sea port in Mussaffah and sees potential to grow globally in the sector.

Dr Saif Al Sayari, executive officer and head of TAQA’s Energy Solutions recently elaborated on the company’s plans for the $850m project.

“Our proposed plant would be up and running by 2017, generating enough power for 20,000 households in Abu Dhabi as well as cutting greenhouse gases,” he said.

Read more at: http://www.waste-management-world.com/articles/2014/02/taqa-gets-into-waste-to-energy-starting-with-100-mw-abu-dhabi-plant.html

Tata Power today announced sale of its 30 per cent stake in Indonesian coal company PT Arutmin for USD 500 million (Rs 3,150 crore) to cut its debt.

The development comes in the wake of the company’s Mundra UMPP project facing under recovery challenges.

Read more at: http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/tata-power-exits-indonesian-coal-firm-arutmin-for-usd-500-mln-114013101403_1.html