Port of Guaymas

From Global Energy Monitor
(Redirected from Puerto de Guaymas)

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.

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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 it was reported the port is planning an expansion that will extend the port into the bay between Guaymas and neighboring Empalme. The Mexican government will fund the expansion, but future terminals for minerals, oil, coal and grains will be leased to private companies.[2]

Coal exports

MEXPORT Coal & Minerals Terminal proposed the construction of a US$700 million terminal at the Port of Guaymas. The project aims 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.[3][4]

In April 2012 it was reported that Union Pacific was working with Mexican railroad Ferromex to possibly export coal through the Port of Guaymas, about 240 miles from the US border.[5]

Critics of the proposed export route through Puerto Guaymas point 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.[3][6]

The Port of Guaymas website shows the Union Pacific/Ferromex rail corridor that would be used to transport coal from the United States to Puerto Guaymas. Trains would cross the border at Nogales, Arizona.[7]

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.[8] 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 has also expressed interest in utilizing the terminal.[9] 2018 estimates of coal through Guaymas 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 had a peak in 2018.[10] American coal from the state of Arizona was moving by rail to the Port of Guaymas during 2019.[11]

By May 2021, the Port of Guaymas had a signed contract negotiated by M Resources to move coal from the Blue Seam production unit of the New Elk mine in Colorado (USA) to customers in Asia.[12] From August to December 2021, there are four agreed shipments of 70,000t with additional shipments destined for other markets being considered.[13]

Project Details

  • Sponsor: MEXPORT Coal & Minerals Terminal
  • Location: Sonora, Mexico
  • Coordinates: 27.918333, -110.898889
  • Coal capacity (Mtpa): 30
  • Status: Operating
  • Start year: 2018
  • Type: Exports (Asia)
  • Source of Coal: Powder River Basin (USA), Uinta Basin (USA)
  • Cost: US$700 million
  • Financing:

Resources

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 "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)
  2. "Port of Guaymas set to expand" Gabriela Rico Arizona Daily Star Arizona Daily Star, April 5, 2012.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Sylvie Cornot-Gandolphe “US Coal Exports: The Long Road to Asian Markets,” Oxford OIES PAPER: CL 2, March 2015
  4. “Developers planning massive coal export terminal in Mexico to serve US producers,” SNL, May 8, 2014
  5. "Union Pacific looks to Mexico as US coal demand falls: officials" Platts.com, April 19, 2012.
  6. Clark Williams-Derry “PRB Coal Exports Through Mexico?,” Sightline Institute, May 15, 2014
  7. "Conectividad del Puerto de Guaymas" Port of Gaymas website, accessed February 2018 (last updated August 24, 2016)
  8. "Utah signs agreement with Mexican state that could open coal export opportunity". www.spglobal.com. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  9. Nick Reynolds 307-266-0634, nick.reynolds@trib.com. "Wyoming's governor approached Mexico about coal export possibilities". Casper Star-Tribune Online. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  10. "Evaluation of Past Coal Purchases for Intermountain Power Agency" (PDF). IHS Markit. October 30, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. "Opinion: American LNG, Oil and Coal to China via Mexico". gCaptain. 2019-03-05. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  12. "Production commences at New Elk". 2021-05-24. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  13. "Allegiance Coal confirms start of production at New Elk". World Coal. 2021-05-26. Retrieved 2021-07-20.

Related GEM.wiki articles

Wikipedia also has an article on Port of Guaymas. This article may use content from the Wikipedia article under the terms of the GFDL.