Damdiny Ghongor, the Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, held discussions with Chinese partners about the prospects for long-term cooperation in the field of natural resources. The negotiations covered issues of technology transfer, attracting investments, and ensuring the protection of local enterprises through investment insurance.
“The key outcome of our visit was obtaining a new exploration license for the Chinese company PetroChina. This is the largest investment from China in our country. Oil production in our country started in the 1990s, and this company has all the capabilities to provide our oil industry with the necessary raw materials,” Ghongor stated.
“The parties agreed on joint efforts to intensify exploration work and create reserves necessary for fully supplying the oil industry with raw materials by signing a long-term agreement. A preliminary agreement was also reached to conclude a long-term contract for the purchase of petroleum products, such as gasoline and diesel fuel, from China at fixed volumes and competitive prices.”
“An important aspect is the need to revise fuel standards. We have Euro-2, Euro-3, Euro-4, Euro-5, and Euro-6. Our monthly consumption is 240 thousand tons of petroleum products, of which 60 thousand tons, or a quarter, is imported from Russia as AI-92 gasoline corresponding to Euro-2 standard,” the minister explained.
“Euro-2 gasoline contains high levels of sulfur and significantly worsens the environmental situation and human health. In contrast, Euro-5 standards have a lesser negative effect on nature and humans. The Ministry of Environment has decided to transition to Euro-5 in Ulaanbaatar starting in mid-2026. Successful implementation of this decision requires joint efforts,” he emphasized.
“Only Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia receive Euro-2 gasoline from the Angarsk plant, so we need to gradually transition to Euro-5,” Ghongor noted.
“Together with the Ulaanbaatar administration and the Ministry of Environment, we have decided to introduce Euro-5 standards starting in June. We are preparing the necessary measures for this transition. Since we are only importers, specific steps for implementing the standards are under the jurisdiction of the city authorities and the Ministry of Environment,” he added.
It is necessary to provide our oil refining industry with the required raw materials. Once operational, this plant will satisfy 50 percent of our consumption, producing Euro-5 standard products. Political decisions need to be made to support this sector, and therefore the company 'Petrochina Dachin Tamsag' is initiating additional exploration work on our territory.
