Worldwide demand for coal puts Australia in spotlight
Australian coal exports continued to expand during 1979 with the total increasing by 13 percent for the year, reaching 43,161,336 tons. Japan was Australia's largest customer, accounting for 67 percent of the total coal exported. Australian exports are forecast to increase by up to 500 percent within the next 20 years to between 160,000,000 and 200,000,000 tons per year. This would necessitate an annual growth rate of around 8 percent. The vast increase in production required to meet the expected demand will necessitate the development of a more adequate infrastructure to facilitate exports, at a cost over the next 20 years of $17,250,000,000. About two thirds of this is expected to be utilized in upgrading transportation facilities and ports. Each extra million tons of export capacity will require an expenditure of $92,000,000, approximately twice the cost of each extra million tons of domestic capacity. The cost of development on a per annum basis is expected to be some $862,500,000 or about 1 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) and it is apparent that external sources of finance will be necessary. Coal will also play an important role in Australia's domestic energy requirements. Currently, coal provides 40 per cent, oil 45 percent, and gas 10 percent of the country's energy requirements. By 1990, coal will be the largest source of energy, providing about 38 percent while oil provides 35 percent and gas 14 percent.
- OSTI ID:
- 6686458
- Journal Information:
- World Coal; (United States), Journal Name: World Coal; (United States) Vol. 6:11; ISSN WOCOD
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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