KEMEROVO, December 15. /TASS/. Russia’s coal production in 2024 is expected to decrease by 1% on 2023 and to be at the 2024 level in 2025, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said.

"This year, we forecast approximately 1% decrease on 2023. Next year, we expect about the same level. <…> And, importantly, domestic consumption will go up. We will also make efforts to ensure exports of these products," he said.

Novak is leading a governmental delegation that has arrived in Kuzbass at the instruction of Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

Kemerovo Region governor Ilya Seredyuk said on December 11 that oil production in the region in 2024 is expected to reach 196 million tons, whereas the 2023 output was 214 million tons. He explained the decrease by rearranging coal markets toward the east due to "unfriendly actions by Western partners."

Nearly 97,000 people are employed in the coal sector in Kuzbass, with more than 150 local coal companies accounting for more than 50% of Russia’s entire coal production.