Wyoming dominates sales of coal produced from federal and Indian lands
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has released a report showing that annual sales of coal produced from federal and Indian lands in the US ranges between 458 million and 509 million short tpa from FY 2003 to FY 2012. Over the same period, sales of coal produced from federal and Indian lands in Wyoming ranged from 356 million to 411 million short tpa, making up 76% to 83% of the US total.
A key reason for these figures is that much of the coal mined in the Wyoming portion of the Powder River Basin (PRB) is produced from federal and Indian lands. Wyoming’s mines in the PRB are also the largest in the US.
Total production of coal in Wyoming, as measured by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), closely monitors the sales of coal produced from federal and Indian lands within the state, as measured by the Interior Department’s Office of Natural Resources Revenue. Using these sales as a proxy for production, Wyoming’s federal and Indian lands production has been about 82% to 95% of the state’s total production over the past decade.
Revenue streams
The revenue collected by the federal government from the sales of coal from federal and Indian lands within Wyoming ranged from a low of US$ 303 million in FY 2003 to a high of US$ 638 million in FY 2012. Under current law, 49% of the revenue associated with onshore federal lands goes directly to the state and 100% of the revenue associated with Indian lands goes to the respective Indian tribes and Indian mineral owners.
Coal declines
Coal production in the state declined 10% between 2008 and 2012. Sales of coal produced in Federal and Indian lands in Wyoming declined 9% in the same period.
The continued decline through FY 2012 reflects slow growth in electricity demand, according to the US EIA. Coal has also seen its share of the energy mix reduced, as relatively low natural gas prices and growing amounts of generation from renewable technologies increase their shares of the mix.
Adapted from press release by Samuel Dodson
Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/drilling-and-production/07082013/wyoming_coal_sourced_primarily_from_federal_and_indian_lands_303/
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