The election of Donald Trump is likely to benefit the US oil and gas sector, though his stand on international trade could hurt economic growth and thereby oil demand, writes Gregory Brew, analyst at Oilrpice.comTrump has been positively exuberant about coal, but according to Brew it is by no means certain that he will able to revive the US coal industry. Article courtesy of Oilprice.com.
A key point in the Trump campaign’s energy and economic plan was the rejuvenation of the American coal industry. This position was a component of Trump’s broader attempt to appeal to white working class American voters. But can he deliver?
As many analysts have observed over the last year, coal is in trouble. Rising production costs, environmental regulations and heavy competition from cheap natural gas has cratered coal profits. The largest coal companies in America, including Peabody Energy, have filed for bankruptcy.
Trump has vowed to loosen all regulation on oil and gas production … But this would only increase the competition to coal
American coal production in 2016 was 746.5 million short tons, down from over a billion in 2014Â according to the EIA. Coal consumption fell over the same period from 917 to 736.9 million short tons, while coal exports fell by 50 percent, from 97 to 57.9 million short tons. If forecasts hold, 2016 will be the worst year for US coal production since 1978. The EIA has predicted that production will grow in 2017, however, by 3 percent.
Coal comeback
Expectations that coal can make a comeback were certainly running high in the wake of Trump’s victory on Tuesday. The next day, Peabody’s stock price leapt up by 50 percent, from $8.50 to nearly $13. Global coal trader Glencore saw a 7 percent rise on Wednesday, along with the prices of struggling coal companies Anglo American, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, according to Bloomberg. Renewables fell across the board, a clear reaction to what many expect to be tepid (to nonexistent) support by a Trump Administration for a clean energy policy.
Trump wants to bring back coal. But can he deliver on his promise? Coal has been stuck in a decline that even a pro-coal president, with assistance from Congress, may not be able to reverse. In 2015 some 80 percent of energy retirements were of coal-burning power plants. Environmental regulations have led to the closure of older, smaller coal plants or driven their conversion to natural gas, which has become abundant and cheap in the wake of the fracking boom. Trump has vowed to loosen all regulation on oil and gas production, opening up federal lands to drillers and freeing up pipeline and offshore projects. But this would only increase the competition to coal and make it more difficult to retake market share in electricity production.
That leaves exports. A significant market exists in the Pacific for coal and spot prices have spiked recently, in part due to actions by the Chinese government to control its own coal production and consumption. Exporters are anticipating a spike in American exports that will drive prices back down, with one prominent executive noting that the demise in US coal production has been “greatly exaggerated.” But US coal exports will have to compete with Australia, and there are still long-term indications that India and China, the two largest coal markets, will work to keep imports low, for security and fiscal reasons.
Trade deals
And of course, while candidate Trump has been pro-coal and pro-energy, he has made it a point to rail against US trade deals with East Asia, particularly China. Oil and gas are confident that a Trump presidency will aid them in the long-term, but financial markets overall are unsure, with some worrying that Trump’s attacks on international trade could lead to global economic instability, declining demand and even a global recession. For oil, it could mean greater pressure on prices, making OPEC’s job of stabilizing production much harder.
Some industry analysts are skeptical that Trump can make good on his promises. Even coal advocates have some doubts over whether rhetoric can translate into gains for their industry. With so much about Trump uncertain, from his actual positions on issues to his preparedness to deliver on his campaign promises, many will simply have to wait and see.
Editor’s Note
The post, Can Trump Really Revive The U.S. Coal Industry?, was first published on OilPrice.com and is republished with permission.
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Jilles van den Beukel says
I think the fortunes of the US coal industry are being determined by three factors:
– in the short term the low cost of its main competitor (US shale gas). Domestically, coal has simply been outcompeted by shale gas.
– in the long term coal being the dirtiest fossil fuel is an issue that is there to stay. New power plants are built for a much longer time span than that of a US presidency.
– for the global coal markets prices have been relatively low for years due to overcapacity (although they have recently picked up with China curtailing its coal production).
The new Donald Trump administration will have little bearing on any of these three issues. The decline of US coal production is irreversible.
I feel that the US tight oil / shale gas industry is much more likely to benefit from a new Trump administration. Here they can make a difference on issues that matter. Waiting times for drilling permits will be reduced. More importantly, new pipeline construction (Dakota acces, Keystone XL) will become a lot easier.
Donald Trump should be taken seriously. Some of his campaign promises should not.