Russia’s Federal Agency for Mineral Resources (Rosnedra) is preparing a comprehensive quantitative reassessment of the country’s hydrocarbon reserves. The work is scheduled to begin next year. The previous assessment was carried out in 2017, meaning the data will be roughly a decade old by the time the new study starts. The industry has changed significantly since then, making an update necessary.
After the previous assessment, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment estimated Russia’s initial total onshore hydrocarbon resources at 317 billion tonnes of fuel equivalent. In physical terms, oil reserves were estimated at slightly more than 9 billion tonnes, while natural gas reserves stood at 14.5 trillion cubic meters.
There is an important qualification: the assessment covered only licensed reserves prepared for production, rather than the full volume of resources contained in the subsurface. This distinction is critical, as the figure is not simply a sum of all geological resources.
The past decade has brought major changes to the industry. Large-scale exploration programs have been completed, new fields have been brought into production, and extensive datasets from seismic surveys and drilling have been accumulated. The economic accessibility of resources has also changed: deposits previously considered uneconomic may now be commercially viable, while some formerly attractive resources may have become less accessible.
The reassessment will provide an up-to-date picture of Russia’s resource base and help improve long-term industry planning. For the government, it will provide a basis for licensing and tax policy; for companies, it will serve as a reference point when selecting new development projects.
Source: Rosnedra
Image: Market Power
