Russia OGK-3 wins rights to 34 mln-tonne coal field

Russia OGK-3 wins rights to 34 mln-tonne coal field

The deposit, in the Republic of Buryatia in Russia, makes up one section of the larger Okino-Klyuchevsky coal field, which has 200 million tonnes of reserves and is about 120 km (75 miles) – MOSCOW, April 16 – Russian electricity producer OGK-3 has won a tender to develop a coal field with reserves of 33.8 million tonnes over the next 20 years, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

The deposit, in the Republic of Buryatia in Russia, makes up one section of the larger Okino-Klyuchevsky coal field, which has 200 million tonnes of reserves and is about 120 km (75 miles) from OGK-3′s Gusinoozersky power station.

OGK-3 Executive Director Sergei Tazin told Reuters in an interview this month his company plans to spend $200 million on coal assets and licences over the next two to three years in order to supply around half its own demand. [ID:nL04471499]

The Russian electricity industry has ambitious plans to shift away from gas toward coal, which the government hopes will account for 35 percent of the sector’s fuel balance in the coming decade, compared to around 15 percent today.

OGK-3, which is controlled by metals major Norilsk Nickel , owns six power stations across the country with a combined generating capacity of 8.5 gigawatts.

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