Russian Demand For Coal May Triple By 2020 As Power Grid Expands - Reuters

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MOSCOW - Demand for thermal coal in Russia, the world's fifth-largest coal miner, could more than triple by 2020 as the country invests billions of dollars to expand its power network, industry officials said on Monday.

Thermal coal supply would rise by more than 50 percent and the proportion of exports in overall output from the world's third-biggest coal exporter would fall, said Vladimir Shchadov, deputy director of Rosenergo, an agency within the Energy Ministry. "The considerable increase in forecast demand for Russian thermal coal -- from 98.4 million tonnes to 342 million tonnes in 2020 -- will motivate coal producers to increase production at a faster pace," Shchadov told the 3rd Coaltrans conference.

Former power monopoly Unified Energy System is investing US$119 billion by 2010 to upgrade Russia's grid. By 2020, coal-fired power will have risen and possibly doubled its share of the country's overall energy output, officials said.

Sergei Shatirov, first deputy chairman of Russia's industrial policy committee, said coal's share in Russian energy production would rise to 38-40 percent by 2020.

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