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Oil reserves in Russia


There have been widely varying estimates of proven oil reserves in Russia. Most estimates included only Western Siberian reserves, which have been exploited since the 1970s and supply two-thirds of Russian oil. However, there are potentially huge reserves elsewhere. In 2005, the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources estimated that another 4.7 billion barrels (0.75×10^9 m3) of oil exist in Eastern Siberia. In July 2013, the Russian Natural Resources Ministry made official estimates of reserves available for the first time. According to Russian Natural Resources Minister Sergey Donskoy, as of 1 January 2012, recoverable reserves of oil in Russia under category ABC1 (equivalent to proven reserves) were 17.8 billion tons and category C2 reserves (equivalent to probable and possible) were 10.9 billion tons.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia’s petroleum output fell sharply, and has rebounded only in the last several years. Soviet Union reached a peak of 12.58 million barrels per day (2.000×10^6 m3/d) in total liquids in 1988, and production had fallen to around 6 million barrels per day (950×10^3 m3/d) by the mid-1990s. A turnaround in Russian oil output began in 1999, which many analysts attribute to the privatization of the industry. Higher world oil prices, the use of Japanese technology, and the rejuvenation of old oil fields also helped. By 2007 Russian production had recovered to 9.8 million barrels per day (1.56×10^6 m3/d), but was growing at a slower rate than 2002-2004. In 2008, production fell 1 percent in the first quarter and Lukoil vice president Leonid Fedun said $1 trillion would have to be spent on developing new reserves if current production levels were to be maintained. The editor-in-chief of the Russian Petroleum Investor claims that Russian production had reached a secondary peak in 2007.


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