Minister for Mining D. Gankhuyag has reported that 31.1 million tons of coking coal was mined in 2012, of which 20.5 million tons was exported for approximately $590 million. Also, 14,483,138 barrels or about 2.3 million tons of crude oil was drilled, of which 14,090,509 barrels were exported for MNT332.3 billion.
He also said that various options were being weighed on how to reduce dependence on Russia for petroleum and that “negotiations with third parties are showing some positive results”. The price of petroleum imported from the Russian company Rosneft is higher than in the international market, and currently Mongolia imports 50% of its monthly needs from other sources, paying $100-$200 per ton than the Rosneft rates. An agreement was signed on March 19 with a Chinese company to import 10,000 tons of fuel in April, at $150 less per ton than what Rosneft charges.