<P> This vast plain -- marshy and thinly populated in the north , hilly in the south -- is of growing economic importance , mostly due to the abundance of natural resources : oil , coal , wood , water . There are vast oilfields in the West Siberian petroleum basin , and Russia 's largest oil refinery is in Omsk . The Kuznetsk Basin around Kemerovo and Novokuznetsk is a center of coal mining , and the production of iron , steel , machinery , and chemicals . Logging is a significant industry throughout the region . Hydroelectric stations dam the Ob near Novosibirsk and Kamen - na - Obi . The navigable Ob - Irtysh watershed covers most of this area , and the southern part is also criss - crossed by the Trans - Siberian , South Siberian and Turkestan - Siberian rail lines . Agricultural products include wheat , rice , oats , and sugar beets , and livestock is raised . </P>
<P> This vast plain -- marshy and thinly populated in the north , hilly in the south -- is of growing economic importance , mostly due to the abundance of natural resources : oil , coal , wood , water . There are vast oilfields in the West Siberian petroleum basin , and Russia 's largest oil refinery is in Omsk . The Kuznetsk Basin around Kemerovo and Novokuznetsk is a center of coal mining , and the production of iron , steel , machinery , and chemicals . Logging is a significant industry throughout the region . Hydroelectric stations dam the Ob near Novosibirsk and Kamen - na - Obi . The navigable Ob - Irtysh watershed covers most of this area , and the southern part is also criss - crossed by the Trans - Siberian , South Siberian and Turkestan - Siberian rail lines . Agricultural products include wheat , rice , oats , and sugar beets , and livestock is raised . </P>
siberia 's economic significance is primarily due to its
siberia 's economic significance is primarily due to its
abundance of natural resources : oil , coal , wood , water
abundance of natural resources : oil , coal , wood , water