Oil reserves in Russia

Minerals in Russia

Main article: Minerals in Russia

Oil production in Russia

Main article: Oil production in Russia

Chronicle

2025

Hard-to-recover reserves account for 52% of total oil

Hard-to-recover reserves (TRIZ) account for 52% of the total oil in Russia, including 5% offshore. This was announced on February 28, 2025 by the State Commission on Mineral Reserves (GKZ).

According to Finmarket, in the structure of oil production, the current share of hard-to-recover reserves is 32%, including 2% in offshore fields. Thus, traditional reserves still account for the bulk of the oil produced - 68%.

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Фото: Freepik

Igor Shpurov, General Director of FBU GKZ, noted that traditional oil reserves, which make up 48% of the total, provide 68% of all production. At the same time, about 31% of traditional reserves are represented by highly aquatic and highly developed fields, where the main task is to find and localize residual oil and gas reserves.

Even though Russia's major giant fields are in their fourth phase of development, their current recoverable reserves still stand at 1.6 billion tons of oil.

In Russia, the types of hard-to-recover reserves of useful are determined minerals by a government decree. According to data, in the Federal Agency for Subsoil Use (Rosnedra) West Siberian oil and gas province, hard-to-recover reserves include Abalak, Bazhenov and Achimov deposits.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak previously predicted that the share of production of hard-to-recover oil reserves in Russia could increase from 30% to 70% by 2050. According to him, the government is considering introducing additional benefits for the development of such reserves in order to create conditions for maintaining production volumes in accordance with the planned plans.

The gradual depletion of traditional fields and the increase in the share of hard-to-recover reserves in the overall structure of Russia's oil resources underlines the importance of developing technologies for effective work with such reserves and the need for state support for this area.^[1]

8th in the world in terms of oil reserves

Oil reserves in countries of the world (billion barrels), according to Bloomberg as of February 2025:

Venezuela: 303.8

Saudi Arabia: 258.6

Iran: 208.6

Canada: 170.3

Iraq: 145

Kuwait: 101.5

UAE: 97.8

Russia: 80

Libya: 48.3

UNITED STATES: 47.1

Nigeria: 36.8

Kazakhstan: 30

China: 26

Qatar: 25.2

Brazil: 12.7

2024: List of major oil fields

In 2024, the volume of oil production in Russia amounted to 516 million tons, while oil exports reached 240 million tons. These data were announced by Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak in his article for the journal Energy Policy (published by the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation) at the end of January 2025.

Oil fields in Russia are located unevenly. The predominant part of the explored reserves is located within Western Siberia, in the Urals, in the Volga region, in the European North. Oil is also produced in different volumes in Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Chechnya, Ingushetia, Stavropol Territory, the Komi Republic, and Sakhalin.

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Фото: TAdviser

According to Novak, the share of oil and gas revenues in 2024 amounted to about 30% of the total federal budget revenues, and the country's fuel and energy complex contributed 20% to gross domestic product.

Among the significant oil production projects, the Deputy Prime Minister noted the ongoing implementation of the Vostok Oil Arctic project, which is carried out by Rosneft, as well as the beginning of the development of the Chonsky cluster in Eastern Siberia, where Gazprom Neft is engaged in the extraction of hard-to-recover reserves. The expected resources for the Chona group of fields are more than 1.7 billion tons of oil and 500 billion cubic meters of gas.

As for oil refining, in 2024, primary processing amounted to 266.5 million tons of raw materials. The depth of processing at Russian refineries has increased and reached an average of 84.4%, which is an improvement over 2023.

In addition, in Russia there is a significant increase in the production of motor fuel of the highest ecological class of K5. Since the introduction of this standard in 2016, the production of K5 class gasoline has increased by 10.5%, reaching 41 million tons, and diesel fuel - by 26%, amounting to 81 million tons.

2022: Technologically recoverable oil reserves in the Russian Federation will last for 39 years - Rosnedra

Profitable oil reserves in the Russian Federation will last for 33 years, and technologically recoverable - for 39 years, the head of Rosnedra said in September 2022.

2021: Rosnedra: Oil in Russia will last for 21 years

In mid-September 2021, the Federal Agency for Subsoil Use (Rosnedra) estimated oil reserves in Russia.

Profitable reserves [oil is enough] for about 20-21 years, - said the interim head of the department Yevgeny Petrov (quoted by TASS Information Agency of Russia).

According to him, this period will increase as technologies for hard-to-recover oil reserves develop. The head of Rosnedra added that the most promising Russian region for exploration of oil and gas reserves is Western Siberia.

Rosnedra estimated that there will be enough oil in Russia for 21 years

Here we still work and work. Here is the potential for work for many, many more years, - he pointed out.

The development of hydrocarbon fields in Eastern Siberia, according to him, is still unprofitable due to the lack of the necessary infrastructure.

In April 2021, the previous head of Rosnedr, Yevgeny Kiselev, told Rossiyskaya Gazeta that oil reserves in Russia would last for 58 years, of which profitable - only for 19 years, and gas reserves - for more than 60 years.

Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology Alexander Kozlov in May 2021, in a conversation with RBC, reported that at the then level of production of Russian oil reserves would be enough for 59 years, and natural gas - for 103 years.

According to Westwood Global Energy, 70% of the world's discovered oil and gas reserves are in Russia. To support production growth and a significant amount of competitive oil exports until 2035, Russian companies must grow reserves of at least 10.4 billion tons, the study says.

In September 2021, oil and gas condensate production in Russia jumped. The growth is recorded, in particular, against the background of the fact that key oil companies increased production in accordance with the terms of the OPEC + deal. Another reason may be recovery from a fire at Gazprom's plant near Novy Urengoy^[2]

2019

Sixth country in the world in confirmed oil reserves

The geological reserves of oil and condensate in the Russian Federation in 2019 increased by almost 2 billion tons.

The increase in oil and condensate reserves in Russia due to geological exploration at the end of 2019 by the amount of all categories (A + B1 + C1 + B2 + C2) is tentatively estimated at 1.952 billion tons, and by gas - 1.354 trillion cubic meters.

Oil companies overestimate reserves

A significant part of the oil and gas reserves in Russia, which are reported by raw materials companies and which are put on the state balance sheet, is not confirmed as a result of revaluation, exploration and production.

This was announced in May 2020 by the Accounts Chamber in a report on the state of the country's mineral resource base in 2015-19. Oil and gas companies tend to overestimate explored deposits, reporting to the state on natural resources. On average, every year Russia writes off the reserves of hydrocarbons that turned out to be "fake" from the state balance sheet in almost the same volume as it pumps out of the bowels annually.

In total, since 2016, oil and condensate reserves of 2.278 billion tons have been recognized as not existing in reality, which is almost five annual production volumes.

Over the same period, due to unconfirmation, 6.041 trillion cubic meters of gas had to be written off - more than nine annual production volumes.

Notes