Serious Coal Shortage Expected in Near Future

Iran’s domestic coal consumption revolves around 2 million tons per year, 1.5 million tons of which are supplied by domestic production while the remaining 500,000 tons are imported. 
However, as the Secretary of Iran Coal Association Saeed Samadi said, with the addition of the country's steelmaking capacity and the number of blast furnaces next year (March 2020-21), domestic demand is expected to rise to 3-4 million tons, meaning a serious shortage will arise.
According to Samadi, Iran’s proven coal reserves stand at around 1.2 billion tons, ILNA reported.
“Around 90% of the world’s steel are produced using coal because it’s a cheap energy resource compared to oil products. But since in Iran, significant subsidies are allocated to oil and gas products, coal cannot compete with oil products,” he said.