Gas reserves to last for 60-70 years in Russia

The volume of coal reserves will last for 500-800 years in Russia, whilethe proved industrial gas reserves - for only 60-70 years, it was pointedout at a meeting of the Deputy Chairman of Gazprom's Executive BoardAlexander Ananenkov with governor of the Kemerovo region Aman Tuleyev,which was held on August 14, 2002, the press service of the Russian gasholding reported. The head of the regional administration was quoted assaying this disproportion is due to low gas prices on the domestic market,and it may have a negative impact on Gazprom's business, the performance ofthe coal industry and the Russian economy on the whole. The parties alsoreached common ground on the fact that there is currently a disproportionin Russia's fuel balance, where gas accounts for nearly 50 percent, whilethe share of gas in fuel consumption by electric power stations is 64percent. As it was reported earlier, Gazprom's losses from gas supply tothe Russian domestic market are RUR20-25bn (around $0.63-0.79bn), accordingto rough estimates. .