VKG overtakes Enefit as Estonia's largest oil shale miner
Viru Keemia Grupp (VKG) overtook Enefit Industry in 2025 to become Estonia's top oil shale miner, even as the country's total extraction declined for a third year.
According to the Environmental Board, Estonia mined just over 8 million metric tons of oil shale in 2025, continuing a three-year decline in extraction volumes.
For the first time, VKG surpassed Enefit Industry, a subsidiary of the Estonian state-owned Eesti Energia that has historically been the country's largest oil shale producer.
VKG's output included material from its Ojamaa mine, opened in 2009, and the new Uus-Kiviõli mine.
Its mining volumes dipped slightly on year, reaching 3,576,334 tons in 2025, down from 3,593,725 tons in 2024.
In 2025, Enefit Industry extracted 3,453,873 tons of oil shale from its Ahtme and Estonia mines, plus the Narva and Sirgala quarries, which are closing this year. This was more than half a million tons less than in 2024 and two million tons less than in 2023.
The only increase among major producers came at Kiviõli Keemiatööstus, which mined 990,901 tons of oil shale in 2025, up from 949,656 tons the previous year.
Total commercial oil shale mined in Estonia in 2025 amounted to 8,021,108 tons, down from 8,549,302 tons in 2024.
An additional 2,040,107 tons of oil shale, including waste and other materials, were written off last year.
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Editor: Rene Kundla, Aili Vahtla
