Back and to the future

In terms of proven oil reserves, Russia has returned to the nineties

In terms of proven oil reserves, Russia goes back 20 years to 1990, when the oil industry reached its peak. “In the early and mid-90s, there was a lot of talk about the fact that we are eating up what was explored by previous generations, and are extracting much more mineral raw materials than we are exploring,” Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said yesterday at a meeting with the head of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Yuri Trutnev. In 2005, “a decision was made to restore Russia’s mineral resource base,” the prime minister continued, and 2009 became a turning point. “Our explored reserves are already equal to those of 1990, despite the fact that production was carried out in a fairly large volume and at a high pace,” he said.

Last year, compared to 2008, oil production in Russia increased by 1.2%, 490 million tons. During the crisis year, even greater success was achieved in exploration - the increase in reserves amounted to 620 million tons. For this, the head of government praised Yuri Trutnev: “This is a good result, I hope that the department will work in the same spirit this year.” The main discovery of the year was the Savostyanov field in the Irkutsk region, exploration of which was carried out by the state-owned Rosneft. According to Mr. Trutnev, its reserves are estimated at 150 million tons of oil. Moreover, as a source in the company itself told Vremya Novostey, “this is according to the most conservative estimates.” Since the deposit’s reserves exceed 70 million tons, it will be included in the list of strategic ones, Mr. Trutnev noted.

According to the minister, over the past four years it has been possible to maintain the pace of expanded reproduction of all major types of minerals (oil, gas, gold, silver, iron ores, copper). Mr. Trutnev hopes that the upward trend will continue in 2010.

However, the Prime Minister said, the Ministry of Natural Resources still has work to do, in particular, to improve the activities of Rostechnadzor. As you know, Vladimir Putin sharply criticized the activities of the service after the accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric station . In addition, businessmen have repeatedly complained to him and the president about Rostechnadzor, accusing the department of bureaucracy. “We know that here (regarding the work of Rostekhnadzor), unfortunately, there are a lot of questions both from market participants and from business,” Mr. Putin said. According to Mr. Trutnev, last year about 80 different acts were developed regulating the activities of the service, eliminating unnecessary administrative barriers, unnecessary licenses and permits, and at the same time increasing the responsibility of all those who deal with the operation of particularly dangerous facilities. In addition, the basis for the country's industrial safety until 2015 has been prepared. This year, the Ministry of Natural Resources will have to revise 107 old regulations.

The Prime Minister and the Minister also discussed the situation with the Baikal pulp and paper mill. Let us recall that the enterprise, owned by Oleg Deripaska, was closed at the end of 2008, when Rosprirodnadzor ordered the plant to switch to a closed water circulation system and prohibited the use of chlorine for bleaching cellulose. Due to the crisis, the cost of unbleached pulp fell sharply, and the plant was stopped, and 1.5 thousand of its employees were laid off. However, in the middle of the month, the head of government signed a decree allowing the production of paper, pulp and cardboard in the ecological zone of Baikal. The plant has now been reopened. “The pulp and paper mill has been operating since the late 1960s. As scientists reported when I was on Lake Baikal this summer, no changes in environmental terms have been observed or identified during the operation of this enterprise for decades. Nevertheless, we must constantly monitor the situation, clearly and clearly understand what will happen there,” said the head of government. Yuri Trutnev said: “Vladimir Vladimirovich, I had a meeting with Oleg Vladimirovich Deripaska. He said that they were somewhat late in developing the technologies, but they guarantee that within three years they will fully develop the technology that will not allow any discharges into Lake Baikal, and this topic will be completely closed.”

Kirill MELNIKOV