Reuters reported that Russian tycoon Mr Oleg Deripaska's industrial company En+, undeterred by weak coal markets, will persist in moving beyond supplying his own power plants to become an exporter, taking advantage of proximity to China.

It made its first delivery to China last month and expects to increase deliveries in coming years even while competitively priced US shale gas supplies threaten demand for coal.

Mr Andrei Churin MD of En+ said that "The centre of economic activity is shifting eastwards. While consumption of electricity in Europe is declining, it is increasing in the East. We see there's a colossal potential here and we are moving in this direction."

Mr Deripaska's En+ runs metals, mining and electricity operations mostly in eastern Siberia, just north of the Chinese border. Its coal division, which supplies coal to power many of the smelters controlled by Deripaska's aluminium giant RUSAL, intends to produce 20 million tonnes of coal per year by 2016, with the potential to export 5 million tonnes.

In 2011, it produced 16.6 million tonnes of coal, enough to supply En+ controlled power plants and start modest exports.

En+, whose coal division posted a 25% increase in revenue to USD 526 million in 2011, must cope with an unstable market that hinges on news of Chinese coal import plans and European Union strategies to shift away from coal to reduce pollution.

Source - Reuters

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