Coal

JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corporation is aiming to become an integrated energy company and considers its coal business to play an important role for the realization of this objective.
The Company not only sells imported coal to Japanese customers, but also participates in the joint management of operations at an Australian coal mine, and operates a coal receiving and storage terminal in Japan, among other activities, to strengthen its coal supply chain.

The Company commenced its coal business in 1981, and currently sells about 9 million tons of coal per annum, thanks to the close relationships built with customers through the Company’s oil business.
Bulga coal from Australia, the main coal sold by the Company since 1992, has been supplied to, and used by, all of the Japanese power companies. Bulga has become the top brand of coal in Japan, with sales to Japanese users exceeding 7 million tons per annum.

In 1990, the Company acquired a stake in Oakbridge Pty Limited, which owns the majority of equity in the Bulga Coal Mine, and has been working with Xstrata Coal, the operator, to ensure stable production and supply.
Bulga Coal Mine, one of the biggest coal mines in Australia, consists of an open-cut mine, an underground mine and a coal handling and preparation plant and produces about 10 million tons of coal per annum with a highly efficient operation.
To maintain the stable supply of coal from Bulga Coal Mine in the future, the Blakefield Underground Mine started production in 2010 with the use of the biggest longwall mining equipment in Australia.

On the downstream side of the coal supply chain in Japan, the Company constructed the Kudamatsu Coal Centre in Kudamatsu, Yamaguchi Prefecture, at a site where a former refinery was located, and commenced coal receiving, storing and shipping operations in 2001.
Kudamatsu Coal Centre is one of the largest coal centres in Japan, with a handling volume of 2.7 million tons per annum. The coal is shipped to Chugoku Electric Power Company.

While the Company's coal business is deeply involved in Australia, particularly Bulga coal, it is also working towards diversifying its sources of coal supply in response to increasing coal demand in Asia, including in Japan. The Company has supplied other Australian coal and coal from other countries such as Indonesia, Russia and Malaysia, and is seeking to expand its coal business, including through new investments.

JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corporation is committed to providing a long-term supply of Bulga and other coals to Japanese power companies, steel companies, paper-manufacturing companies and all other customers.