First Deputy Minister of Energy & Coal Industry Yurii Ziukov has explained in an interview with the Focus publication why Ukraine intends to buy steam coal from separatists, as well as the price of the coal.
"There is not that much anthracite coal in the world. In addition to Ukraine, it exists in Russia, South Africa, Korea, Vietnam, and the United States. Only the gas group exists in Poland. Recently, the Polish deputy prime minister said that Ukraine deliberately does not want to buy coal from them. That is not the case. If our Polish fiends had anthracite coal, we would have bought it," said Ziukov.
“Ukraine exported coal all the time. When we were left without mines, it turned out that there was no free fuel on the world market and that contracts had been concluded for everything. Our plans to purchase 4 million tons for the winter immediately raised the price. If it was previously USD 70 per ton, it is now USD 78-79 on the border of Ukraine and Russia. Port coal is USD 5-6 more expensive because of transportation,” the official added.
At the same time, Ziukov stressed that Ukraine could not limit itself to Russia alone. "What if the situation suddenly becomes like the situation involving gas? It existed and then it was gone. Russia is capable of meeting our needs and their coal is cheaper, but it is necessary to have backup contracts overseas. One million tons of coal has now been contracted from South Africa for four months, and systematic deliveries will start in November. That is about a fifth or a sixth of our needs," he said.
"Everyone said that coal was most expensive in Ukraine. However, we now see that import proposals are even more expensive. We are being offered coal from the United States at USD 115-130 in their ports, i.e. plus the additional costs of logistics. Therefore, it is always better to invest in one’s own production than to invest in another country. This means that we will still look for ways to get our own coal out. There are currently about 3-4 million tons in the warehouses of the mines that are located in the occupied territory, and the coal shortage is specifically about 1.2-1.3 million," said Ziukov.
"The task facing the ministry is to survive the winter and prepare for the winter heating season to ensure that we have electricity and heat. We are ready to negotiate even with the separatists in order to get the coal out," the First Deputy Minister of Energy & Coal Industry concluded.
