Russian coal reserves to last five centuries, sees vast potential for cooperation with India, ET EnergyWorld

Moscow: Russia’s coal reserves are enough to meet demand for more than five centuries and the country sees vast potential for cooperation with India, Russian Energy Ministry Officials here have said. The new environment-friendly and safe coal mining hubs will provide up to 250 million tonnes of additional production capacity by 2025, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said in an article.

Russia is one of the leading coal suppliers to India by volume, Novak, who holds the rank of Deputy Prime Minister in the Russian cabinet, said.

Russian coal production totalled 443.5 million tonnes in 2024, with 196.2 tonnes exported.

In the article published in the latest issue of “Energy Policy” magazine, Novak writes that by 2050, the industry will be made up of high-tech, modern enterprises operating under strict environmental standards.

“Installed coal-power generation capacity in Siberia and the Far East is expected to reach about 38 GW. We also plan to introduce ‘clean coal’ technologies and innovative coal mining approaches to develop a wide range of products for coal and coal-waste processing, as well as to boost the development of coal chemistry industries,” he said and unveiled the plans for the development of coal industry in Russia.

According to Russia’s energy strategy which runs through 2050, the country’s target for coal production in 2030 is 530.1 million tonnes, with a goal of 662 million tonnes by 2050. In 2024, coal output stood at 443.5 million tonnes.

“Russia has a vast resource base and every opportunity to efficiently extract and use these reserves to reliably meet domestic demand and expand export supplies,” Novak said.

Russia has suggested signing an intergovernmental agreement to support imports of coking coal as well as establishing supply volumes for thermal coal.

“Given the Indian steel industry’s rising demand for coking coal, we see a lot of potential in the development of Russian-Indian cooperation in the coal sector,” Energy Ministry’s Coal Industry Director Pyotr Bobylev was quoted as saying by independent Interfax news agency.

India signed a memorandum in 2021 which envisages boosting Russian coking coal supplies to India to 40 million tonnes by 2035.>

• Published On May 13, 2025 at 08:54 AM IST

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