Coal India exploring export options

State-run miner Coal India is exploring avenues to export the fossil fuel after it clocked a record production, a top official said on Tuesday.

"Consequent to record production of coal by Coal India Limited, it is now exploring avenues to export coal," Coal Secretary Anil Swarup wrote on Twitter. Tepid demand in the energy sector has led to rising stockpiles at power plants and the company's own mines.

The miner produced 125.65 million tonnes (mt) of coal in April-June quarter of the current fiscal against a target of 132.43 mt, thus achieving 95 percent of the production target set for the quarter. Its production grew by 3.5 percent in the period as compared to 121.33 mt produced in the corresponding period last year.

CIL's off-take stood at 133.19 mt in the quarter ended June against a target of 149.88 mt. Its off-take grew by only 2.9 per cent in the quarter as compared to off-take of 129.48 mt in the year ago period.

Its June production stood at 42.72 mt while its off-take for the month was at 44.96 mt.

The miner set a target of 598.60 mt of production in the current fiscal. For FY17, the target of off-take of the company was set at 598.61 mt and out of this, 450 mt will be supplied to power sector utilities.

In the last fiscal, the miner had produced 536.51 mt of coal against a target of 550 mt and its off-take was at 532.26 mt.

--IANS

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