The Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation is set to have doubled coal exports by 2035, Deputy Minister of Energy Anatoly Yanovsky, said at the Russian Energy Week International Forum.
According to the speaker, the growth of coal prices and demand attributes to the relevance of the Strategy and Program for Russia’s Coal Industry Development till 2035.
“The long-term program for the development of Russia’s coal industry covering the period through 2030 should be updated amid its implementation ahead of schedule. The revised strategy for the development of Russia’s coal industry being currently approved by ad hoc bodies will let increase coal production 1.5-fold by 2035, to 668 million tons. We also forecast almost a two-fold growth of coal exports from Russia, up to 392 million tons”, said Anatoly Yanovsky.
Sergey Mochalnikov, Director of the Department for Coal and Peat Industry of RF Ministry of Energy, said key points of the demand for coal would be India, Thailand and Bangladesh.
“Australia and, of course, Russia will be the main competitors for the additional demand in the Asian market. Therefore, it is necessary to set ambitious goals for the coal industry of Russia”, he said.
According to Vladimir Tuzov, Strategy Director, SUEK, the revised strategy pays special attention to environmental sustainability.
“Focus on technological renovations let the coal industry become comparable with the gas industry in terms of the volume of emissions”, emphasized the expert.
Gennady Alekseyev, General Director of Holding Company “SDS-Ugol”, said that competitiveness of Russian coal let business structures implement large-scale investment projects.
“In 2021 we will put into operation a specialized port, Sukhodol, with annual capacity of 20 million tons on the eastern coast of Russia. As early as in 2022 coal transshipment via the terminal is to reach 12 million tons. By 2021, on the western coast, in the area of Murmansk port, we will have built a specialized loading facility, Lavna, with annual capacity of 18 million tons”, said Gennady Alekseyev.
The discussion participants praised the strategy for the development of Russia’s coal industry till 2035 and agreed to discuss the issues of railway infrastructure, which hindered the industry development today. (PortNews/Ukrainian metal)