Europe, which is experiencing a shortage of natural gas, asks Russia more coal, Bloomberg writes with reference to sources.
Electricity producers are forced to do this to facilitate the energy crisis against the background of the winter approach and record high fuel prices, representatives of two Russian coal companies told the agency. Recent years in the EU tried to refuse coal so that the production of electricity was eco-friendly. For example, Spain planned to completely abandon coal power plants by 2027.
In the first half of the year, the export of Russian coal rose by 2.4 percent (up to 22.5 million tons). In the Ministry of Energy of Russia, it is believed that the volume of deliveries, including for the production of electricity to Europe, will not change this year and there will be about 48 million tons.
“If all European utilities go to coal, this will entail an increase in demand for it, which one Russia cannot provide in such a short time,” said the main analyte of Wood Mackenzie Ltd. Natasha Tyurina.
The price of gas in Europe has set a record, reaching September 30 at $ 1098 per thousand cubic meters. Growth compared to the closure level of the previous trading session amounted to 2.9 percent.
Earlier, China asked the Russian company Inter RAO to significantly increase the export of electricity in the PRC due to its deficit.