Only 13 bln out of 31 bln metric tons of oil reserves in Russia are economically viable; most of them are difficult to access. At the current production level, these reserves will be enough for 26 years, Natural Resources Minister Alexander Kozlov said.
According to Alexander Kozlov, Russia’s total oil reserves are now estimated at 31 bln tons, and oil resources, at 95 bln tons. The portion that qualifies as “reserves” needs to be confirmed by geological exploration – a concerted effort between the government and oil companies – measured, and deemed to be feasible to extract.
“Out of the 31 bln tons of oil reserves, only 13 bln tons are profitable. With the current production rate (516 million tons per year. – Ed.), they will last for 26 years. Of those, a significant part are hard-to-recover reserves, which were made economically viable through timely tax incentives,” Kozlov said during a Government Hour session in the State Duma.
The Nature Minister’s statement should be taken as a possibility, not a precise forecast, economist Dmitry Afanasyev explains.
“The estimated 26-year period is based on the current production level, discovered reserves and economic efficiency of production. However, the real picture may change with new production technologies, the discovery of more oilfields or oil price fluctuations, which can extend this projected period or shorten it,” the expert emphasizes. “Furthermore, the global energy transition is gradually reducing the world’s dependence on hydrocarbons, so even if reserves meet the estimate, the demand may decrease over time. In any case, 26 years is a long enough period for the economy to adapt and gradually transition to alternative energy sources.”