The President of BHP Billiton’s coal sector has pushed for productivity to fight falling coal prices.

In an address to the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) in Brisbane, BHP’s Dean Dalla Valle said he believed coal demand will continue for the next twenty years, but massive oversupply will keep profitability down.

For BHP, this means more productivity and a higher-performing culture is needed.

Mr Valle he knew that the low coal price was hurting employment on operations across the country, but still pushed for Australia to make itself more productive than its cut-cost competitors.

“Over the past 18 months we have focussed on our cost base throughout our operations and there is still more we need to do as we continue to look for ways to improve the productivity and competitiveness of our mines,” he said.

“The process we are undertaking is essential to ensure that we have a viable and sustainable industry over the longer term.

“After all, the best security anyone can have is to be part of a profitable and sustainable business.”

Pointing to wage differences between Australia and the US, the BHP boss said it was hard to stay profitable when they had to pay so much. He did not mention the significant cost of living difference between the two countries.

“We must always remember that the world sets our prices and Australia sets our costs.”

“Modernising coal mining in an era of productivity gains requires us to work smarter to ensure we deliver long term productivity gains,” he said.

“To do this we need high performing teams and ensure our people have the opportunities to develop their careers through mobility in the industry.

“We need to critically examine the impediments to achieving this.”

“We must always remember that the world sets our prices and Australia sets our costs.”

Coal will have a place in the global energy mix of the future, Valle says, as a large sections of the world develop industrial energy systems for the first time.

“In the next 20 years, we expect 1.7 billion people to gain access to electricity for the first time,” he said.

“Coal remains one of the lowest cost forms of power generation and will remain critical to the provision of this electricity.”