Julie Silvederio for SNL:

The largest coal-producing province in southern China, Guizhou, aims to close 510 coal mines in the next 3 to 5 years, cutting coal production capacity by 70 million tonnes amid the industrywide supply glut, Xinhua News Agency reported March 5, citing the provincial government.

Since 2013, Guizhou was able to reduce the number of its operational and under construction coal mines to less than 800 from 1,700 and it targets to close over 80 coal mines in 2016.

Late in February, the National Energy Administration announced China’s plan to shutter over a thousand coal mines in 2016, which could impact the U.S. coal industry, being a major coal exporter to China.

The range of coal exported by the U.S. to China over the last five years is from 1 million to 10 million tons, Director of Finance Tom Sanzillo of the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis told S&P Global Market Intelligence. “We would expect those numbers to be on the low end of this range in 2016 and for the foreseeable future. Very real possibility of going to zero,” he added.

China’s Guizhou province aims to close over 500 coal mines in 3 to 5 years amid supply glut

