The government of Colombia is reportedly requesting the coal mines in the nation to increase their exports to European, Central American and Caribbean countries as each requests additional supplies amid the Ukraine crisis.
Mines and Energy Minister Diego Mesa Puyo told Reuters that, with the shake-ups in global energy flows, it has entered talks with Glencore’s Cerrejon mine in the Guajira province and coal miner Drummond to fulfill requests.
“Since the Ukraine crisis, we have received urgent requests for facilitating coal sales to Poland, Ukraine through the World Bank, Central America and Dominican Republic,” Mesa said. “We are in talks with the producers to identify any surplus.”
It is a change in perspective for Colombia, which itself was impacted by coal output in 2020 on low demand as well as a lengthy strike at a major coal operation. Energy producers in the country have been working to recover since then as demand yet again rises, especially in Europe.
Colombia also received a similar request last September by the Dominican government to supply coal for power generation, Reuters reported, following one provider’s failure to fulfill a contract for the country.
With coal output on the rise in Colombia, Mesa said it could reach a combined 64 million tonnes this year – possibly even 70 Mt/y amid the higher worldwide demand it is now realizing.
Source: Reuters