Port of Guaymas Coal Terminal
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The Port of Guaymas is in Sonora, Mexico. The coal terminal is operating at the multi-commodity port using portable equipment for loading and unloading.[1]
Location
The port lies on the shores of the Gulf of California off the Pacific Ocean in the southwestern area of the State of Sonora, Mexico, about 200 miles south of the border from the United States. The port sits at the mouth of the Río Yaqui and is surrounded by mountains.
Background
Puerto (Port) de Guaymas is a shipping, manufacturing, commercial, and tourism center. Major exports include sulfuric acid, copper, wheat, and other crops grown in the region. In 2012 the port was reportedly planning an expansion that would extend the port into the bay between Guaymas and neighboring Empalme. The Mexican government was to fund the expansion, but future terminals for minerals, oil, coal and grains were to be leased to private companies.[2]
Coal exports
In 2012 and 2013, multiple sources reported that Union Pacific and Mexican rail operator Ferromex were exploring the possibility of exporting coal through the Port of Guaymas, about 240 miles south of the US border.[3][4]
In 2014, MEXPORT Coal & Minerals Terminal proposed the construction of a US$700 million terminal at the Port of Guaymas. The project aimed to ship 30 million tonnes a year to Asia, sourced from the US Powder River Basin and other mining regions in the Western region of the US.[5][6]
Critics of the proposed export route through Puerto Gu[7]aymas pointed out that the rail journey for the PRB coal would be longer than the journey to the Westshore Terminals near Vancouver, British Columbia, and that shipping distance from Puerto Guaymas to Asian markets would also be longer than from Canada.[5][8]
In August 2018, the U.S. state of Utah and the Mexican state of Baja California signed an informal agreement for coal export through the Port of Guaymas.[9] The 2018 US National Coal Council report confirmed the movement of thermal coal from Utah mines, primarily in the Uinta Basin, to the Guaymas Port.[1] The U.S. state of Wyoming also expressed interest in utilizing the terminal.[10] 2018 shipments of coal through the Guaymas terminal were estimated between 2 and 2.5 million tonnes, with a loading rate of 15,000 tonnes per day.[1] Utah coal moving through Guaymas hit a peak in 2018.[11] American coal from the state of Arizona was moving by rail to the Port of Guaymas during 2019.[12]
By May 2021, the Port of Guaymas had a signed contract negotiated by M Resources to move metallurgical coal from the Blue Seam production unit of the New Elk Mine in Colorado (USA) to customers in Asia.[13][14] From August to December 2021, there were four agreed shipments of 70,000t, with additional shipments destined for other markets under consideration.[15]
A February 2026 coal study commissioned by the Wyoming Energy Authority indicated that a scaled-down version of the original MEXPORT coal terminal was operational at the Port of Guaymas, with a 43-foot draft suitable for small Capesize vessels and an annual coal export capacity of 5 million standard tons per annum.[16] The study listed Union Pacific and Ferromex as the rail carriers providing coal transport from the United States to the Guaymas terminal.[16] A Mexican government website showed the Union Pacific/Ferromex rail corridor crossing the US-Mexico border at Nogales, Arizona.[17]
Peabody Energy, in a May 2026 investor presentation, announced that it was launching test shipments of thermal coal from the North Antelope Rochelle Mine to Vietnam via the Guaymas terminal, using Union Pacific and Ferromex as the rail carriers.[18] The company subsequently reported that a Panamax-sized vessel was loaded in early June and that the cargo had been delivered on time and to specification, prompting interest from other customers in Asia.[13] As of September 2026, Peabody was reportedly contemplating a second test run, subject to market conditions.[13]
Project Details
- Sponsor: ASIPONA Guaymas (Administración del Sistema Portuario Nacional Guaymas, S.A. de C.V.)[19]
- Location: Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico[19]
- Coordinates: 27.918333, -110.898889
- Coal capacity (Mtpa): 5 million standard tons per annum[16]
- Status: Operating[13]
- Start year: 2018[1]
- Type: Exports (Asia)[14][15][13]
- Source of Coal: Powder River Basin (Wyoming), Raton Basin (Colorado)[13]
Resources
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Advancing US Coal Exports: An Assessment of Opportunities to Enhance Exports of US Coal" (PDF). National Coal Council. October 22, 2018.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Port of Guaymas set to expand" Gabriela Rico Arizona Daily Star Arizona Daily Star, April 5, 2012.
- ↑ "Q1 FY2012 · Earnings Call Transcript". Union Pacific Corporation. 2012-04-19.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ [oxfordclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Feb13Comm.pdf "This Company Isn't Just Headed for the Moon… It's Already Part Way There (pp 12-13)"] (PDF). The Oxford Club Communiqué. 2013-02-01.
{{cite web}}: Check|url=value (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 5.0 5.1 Sylvie Cornot-Gandolphe “US Coal Exports: The Long Road to Asian Markets,” Oxford OIES PAPER: CL 2, March 2015
- ↑ “Developers planning massive coal export terminal in Mexico to serve US producers,” SNL, May 8, 2014
- ↑ "Powder River Basin coal reaches Mexico's Port of Guaymas". Railway Supply. 2026-09-12. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Clark Williams-Derry “PRB Coal Exports Through Mexico?,” Sightline Institute, May 15, 2014
- ↑ "Utah signs agreement with Mexican state that could open coal export opportunity". www.spglobal.com. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
- ↑ Nick Reynolds 307-266-0634, [email protected]. "Wyoming's governor approached Mexico about coal export possibilities". Casper Star-Tribune Online. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
- ↑ "Evaluation of Past Coal Purchases for Intermountain Power Agency" (PDF). IHS Markit. October 30, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Opinion: American LNG, Oil and Coal to China via Mexico". gCaptain. 2019-03-05. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 "Powder River Basin coal reaches Mexico's Port of Guaymas". Railway Supply. 2026-09-12. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Production commences at New Elk". 2021-05-24. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Allegiance Coal confirms start of production at New Elk". World Coal. 2021-05-26. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 "Wyoming Coal Study (p 119)" (PDF). Energy Ventures Analysis, for the Wyoming Energy Authority. 2026-02-28.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Conectividad del Puerto de Guaymas" Port of Gaymas website, accessed February 2018 (last updated August 24, 2016)
- ↑ "B Riley Institutional Investor Conference: West Coast Thermal Coal Exports (p 19)". Peabody. 2026-05-21.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 19.0 19.1 "Informe de Gestión Gubernamental 2018-2024" (PDF). ASIPONA Guaymas (Administración del Sistema Portuario Nacional Guaymas). 2024-09-03.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
Related GEM.wiki articles
Wikipedia also has an article on Port of Guaymas Coal Terminal. This article may use content from the Wikipedia article under the terms of the GFDL.
