Kuzbass, Far East coal could lift Asia-Pacific market share to 15%
MOSCOW. April 3 (Interfax) - Russia could raise its share of the Asia-Pacific coal market from 6% to 15% by 2030 by exporting more coal from the Kuznetsk basin (Kuzbass) and Far East, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said at a cabinet meeting, presenting a new updated coal sector development program for the period.
Novak said Russia would boost coal exports 70 million tonnes by 2030. "All the growth will be towards the east, while shipments towards the Atlantic will not change," he said.
The program sets a target of increasing Russia's share of the Asia-Pacific coal market from 6% to 15% by 2030.
"An additional 36 million tonnes of Kuzbass coal will be shipped towards the east as rail transport develops," Novak said, adding that significant amounts would also be shipped from new fields in the Russian Far East.
Russia produced 348 million tonnes and exported 138 million tonnes of coal last year. Novak said that in the best-case scenario, coal production would rise to 480 million tonnes by 2030. Production in the Kuzbass might grow from 203 million to 238 million tonnes, in the Baikal district from 37 million tonnes to 52 million tonnes, in the Far Eastern Federal District from 33 million to 75 million tonnes and in East Siberia minus Baikal from 58 million to 90 million tonnes.
Coal consumption by Russia itself will not alter in the medium term.
In the worst-case scenario, coal production might grow to 410 million tonnes by 2030. "But we're focusing on the best-case," Novak said.
Measures to develop transport infrastructure and develop new highly profitable fields will affect how much coal Russia produces, as will "rising volumes of beneficiated coal products in the domestic market," Novak said.
