Coal news and updates

India will temporarily halt plans to privatize its coal industry, thanks in part to dwindling demand for the fossil fuel, a government official told Reuters Monday.

India’s government wants its private sector to contribute about 1.5 billion tons of coal to the country’s coal industry by 2020, but the move to bring privatization to a halt might hurt the country’s ability to meet its coal production goals.

“We’re reasonably confident that (the reforms) will help raise demand,” Coal Secretary Anil Swarup told Reuters. “We are ready, but there would be a little delay in opening up for private companies.”

India’s government-run Coal India has dialed up its coal production to record levels. Despite the ramp up in production, private companies are not purchasing coal at high enough levels.

Source: dailycalle