Australia Newcastle coal port: seeks interim quota system
PERTH, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Australia's Newcastle coal terminal wants to re-introduce an interim export quota system after a group of miners led by BHP Billiton Ltd (BHP.AX)(BLT.L) finally agreed to the port's restructuring plan, the port operator said on Friday.
Port Waratah Coal Services (PWCS), operator of the world's largest coal port, will now ask the competition regulator to give it the option of implementing producer export quotas until the end of the year.
It said the Newcastle Coal Industry Group (NCIG), a consortium of producers, has agreed on a long-term restructuring plan for Newcastle coal terminal.
The producer export quota system is a means of controlling ship queues at the port and keeping producers' demurrage costs down.
PWCS said the long-term port sharing agreement, which will see the port operating under a take-or-pay contract, will come into effect from the start of 2010.
BHP is leading a group of coal miners to find an equitable way to share limited export capacity at Newcastle, which had been forced to implement a temporary quota system for allocating facilities to producers as surging output causing long shipping queues when miners scrambled to export more coal.
But the quota system, which needed approval from Australia's competition authorities because it required collaboration from rival miners, fell into disarray early this month after the NCIG missed an Aug. 31 deadline to agree on a long term port-sharing proposal.
Shareholders in NCIG are BHP Billiton, which has a 35.5 percent stake, Peabody Coal (BTU.N) Felix Resources (FLX.AX), Donaldson Coal Pty Ltd, Whitehaven Coal Ltd (WHC.AX) and Centennial Coal CEN.AX. (Reporting by Fayen Wong; Editing by Michael Urquhart)
