Upcoming port operator Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group missed an Australian Competition & Consumer Commission deadline after it failed to sign on to the legal framework for the Hunter Coal Plan earlier this month.

BHP, 35.5% owner of NCIG, did not agree to the legal framework back then but is now pleased with new amendments to the plan.

This morning BHP said it had always maintained that an industry-supported solution was possible and could be achieved.

"I am delighted we have reached a solution that is supported by all of industry," BHP president of energy coal Jimmy Wilson said.

"With these agreements in place the coal industry will have long-term certainty over future access to vital port capacity, which will support our future expansions and growth of the region."

Port Waratah Coal Services and Newcastle Ports Corporation have already signed on to the industry agreement, and with the NCIG onboard, representation for all 14 Hunter Valley coal producers is now on the same page.

PWCS expects the processes of the new plan to start immediately and come into full effect from January 1, 2010.

It said the plan was structured to enable coal loading and rail operations to be underpinned and aligned by 10-year contracts.

“The plan will enable the Hunter coal chain to make more accurate and timely infrastructure investment decisions,” PWCS said.

“The plan also gives coal producers urgently needed certainty in terms of what they can export over the long term, and certainty of access to new producers and existing producers that want to expand.

“It’s possible that coal exports from Newcastle could soon double from the current output of 91 million tonnes.”

PWCS general manager Graham Davidson said the agreement was the culmination of two years of exhaustive work by the Hunter Valley’s coal industry and the state government.

“This is a major turning point in the history of Hunter Valley coal exports,” Davidson said.

“We now effectively have all key players reading off the one road map, meaning everyone has a far better idea of what infrastructure should be built, and where and when.”

Under the unanimously agreed plan, PWCS will be able to lease additional government land on Kooragang Island to build a fourth coal loading terminal, T4, to meet further projected increases in demand.

PWCS said the feasibility for T4 was underway.

NCIG’s $A1.3 billion export terminal is under construction, with the first shipment to be loaded by the end of March 2010.

PWCS said it would now ask the ACCC to again give it the option of implementing producer export allocations until the end of the year, as a means of controlling the vessel queue and keeping demurrage costs down.

“This would be the first phase of the plan, enabling a smooth transition under the long-term contractual structure,” the port operator said.

The ACCC’s authorisation of the capacity-balancing system provides immunity to port operators from potential court action on port operations that could be deemed anti-competitive under the Trade Practices Act.