According to data published by the National Institute for Statistics (INS), Romanian coal production reached 3.8 million tons of oil equivalent in the first eleven months of 2016, which is 10.2 % less compared to the same period in 2015.
At the same time, Romanian coal imports amounted to 495,900 tons of oil equivalent, which is a decrease of 1.3 % compared to the first eleven months of 2015.
The decline of coal production in Romania is related to poor situation regarding the largest thermal power producers in the country – Energy Complex (EC) Oltenia and Energy Complex Hunedoara, which have recorded huge losses in the past few years that forced the companies to close some if their less profitable coalmines. EC Hunadoara, the company that operates pit mines in Jiu Valley and several coal-fired power plants went into insolvency in 2016.
According to the draft Energy Strategy, Romania has total reserves of 12.6 billion tons of lignite, located in Oltenia mining basin, of which 986 million tons are in exploitation, as well as some 2.2 billion tons of pit coal in Jiu Valley, of which 592 million tons are in exploitation.
