Russia Ministry of Energy: Nikolai Shulginov in an interview with Rossiya 24: “2021 was marked by a recovery for both the economy and energy”

Nikolai Shulginov, in an interview with the Russia 24 TV channel, spoke about the results of 2021 in the fuel and energy complex, about the upcoming amendments in the coal industry and in the electric power industry, as well as increasing the marginality of the fuel business.

As the Minister noted, 2021 was marked by a recovery for both the economy and energy. Thus, natural gas production will grow by 10% and reach 761 billion cubic meters. m., oil production in 2021 will increase by 2% and reach 524 million tons, while exports will decrease by 3.8% due to increased oil refining in Russia to increase the production of gasoline and diesel fuel.

“The production of motor fuels will increase by 2 million tons, which is about 6%, diesel will also increase by 2 million tons. Stocks are also sufficient. In 2022, the Ministry of Energy, together with the Federal Antimonopoly Service, provides for changes to the damper and will increase the level of compensation for refineries. Also, in the 1st quarter, an increase in exchange standards is envisaged,” Nikolai Shulginov said.

Speaking about the results of the year in the electric power industry, the head of the Russian Ministry of Energy noted an increase in electricity consumption by 5.4% to 1.1 trillion kWh. According to him, the maximum consumption in Russia has recently been reached. “Exports have also grown to 21 billion kWh – for example, to Northern Europe by 2 times, by 30% to China,” the Minister said, adding that the fuel and energy industry is successfully passing through the autumn-winter period.

“Programs have been developed to improve the reliability of power supply for several regions for a total of 136 billion rubles – these are Dagestan, Chechnya, Ingushetia, Pskov, Novgorod, Arkhangelsk, Tver and Sakhalin regions, as well as Primorsky Krai,” Nikolai Shulginov listed.

In addition, the Minister touched upon the situation with the accident at the Listvyazhnaya mine, where he noted that working conditions in the coal industry would be tightened.

“Coal mining is associated with risks, safety rules are constantly being adjusted – mining and geological conditions are also becoming more complicated, mining is taking place at greater depths. Today, the Government is developing measures that will lead to tougher requirements for hazardous and super-hazardous mines in order to bring them into the middle category. If this does not work out, then it is necessary to develop a program for closing mines with difficult and extremely dangerous conditions, providing for social measures for miners and providing them with a job. 10-20 mines fall under these conditions,” the head of the Russian Ministry of Energy said.

By the end of the year, the coal industry of the Russian Ministry of Energy expects a 9% increase in production to 439 million tons, of which 339 million tons is thermal coal.

Among other things, the Minister spoke about the upcoming new information system for the Russian fuel and energy complex. Previously, the Ministry developed and launched the GIS Fuel and Energy Complex, at the moment it collects data from 2.5 thousand organizations.

“Given that this system has been designed for about 10 years, the solutions included in it have become outdated and do not meet the realities of today and the fuel and energy complex as a whole. Therefore, we decided to develop the concept of a new, more advanced platform,” the Minister said.