, Columnists
Big Energy Companies Describe Coal’s Last Stand
There is demand in India and in steel-making. But even those fortresses are vulnerable.
Steel-making is one of coal’s sunny spots.
Photographer: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
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BHP Group, a diversified mining company and the largest company by market cap on the Australian Stock Exchange, recently published its economic and commodity outlook for the host of metals and hydrocarbons it produces. Its forecast for coal points to changes ahead for the world’s second-largest source of primary energy, after oil.
The BHP outlook for energy coal notes weak prices for Australian exports. And, looking further out, BHP refers to global population growth as its benchmark and concludes: