Government Approves Subsoil State Programme Through 2030

The Council of Ministers, by Resolution No. 740 of December 20, approved the Subsoil state programme for 2026–2030. The document was published today on the National Legal Internet Portal and enters into force on January 1.

The responsible customer for the state programme is the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection.

The programme is aimed at addressing the following tasks:

• increasing the level of geological exploration of the territory;
• reproduction and development of the mineral resource base, and improving the efficiency of mineral resource use.

The main areas of programme implementation are defined as:

• regional geological exploration (geophysical surveys, geological mapping, parametric drilling, thematic work and methodological support) and the preparation of new-generation maps at a scale of 1:200,000;
• expansion of the country’s own fuel and energy potential;
• prospecting, assessment, preliminary exploration and preparation for industrial development of new deposits of construction materials and other types of raw materials;
• assessment of the prospects for identifying ore minerals on the territory of Belarus;
• improvement of the system for collecting, processing, analysing, storing and providing access to geological information;
• digitalisation of the geological sector.

The total funding for the programme will amount to 276.08 million roubles, of which almost 273.4 million roubles will come from the republican budget and 2.7 million roubles from the own funds of organisations.

Over five years, the government plans to cover 60% of the country’s territory with new-generation geological maps. The current coverage level stands at 42%.

It is expected that over five years the increase in recoverable forecast oil resources will total 4.05 million tonnes, while the increase in geological oil reserves will amount to 1.867 million tonnes. Targets are also set for growth in reserves of chalk, peat, kaolin and clays.

The state programme also sets out projected volumes of mineral extraction over the next five years. In particular, oil production is planned at 2.06 million tonnes next year and 2.3 million tonnes in 2030.

Rock salt production in 2030 will amount to 2.595 million tonnes and will see almost no growth over the five-year period.

It is forecast that the production of raw potash salts by Belaruskali will increase from 56.4 million tonnes in 2026 to 57.7 million tonnes in 2030.