Interfax: Russia can keep oil output at 500 million tons for 10 yrs – Donskoi

Oil Well file photo

MOSCOW. Dec 25 (Interfax) – Russia’s subsurface resource base allows the country to maintain oil production of 500 million tonnes a year for the next ten, given the current conditions, Natural Resources Minister Sergei Donskoi said during a meeting devoted to the ‘effectiveness of studying and developing raw hydrocarbons on Russia’s continental shelf.’

However, the minister said, if efforts are made to find new resources and make efficient use of them, Russia could maintain annual output of 500-600 million tonnes for the next thirty years.

“In the current conditions, we can maintain extraction at half a billion [tonnes] for ten years. But if efforts are made to efficiently use and include resources, then discovered resources will suffice for the production of around 500-600 million tonnes for thirty years,” Donskoi said.

Russia has enormous potential for extracting hydrocarbons offshore, he said. “And our task is to take measures to see that this competitive advantage is realized by the most effective and environmentally safe means,” he said.

More than thirty continental shelf sections spanning more than a million square meters have been licensed this year,

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