Russia’s Recoverable Oil Reserves Estimated at 31 Billion Tons

Russia has sufficient oil reserves for 62 years, though this does not mean that the country will run out of oil over that period, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak stated.

Photo: Desingned by Freepik by kotkoa, https://creativecommons.org/public-domain/pdm/

An oil pipe

Novak delivered a presentation to substantiate his statement during a meeting with students.

According to the materials shown, Russia's currently profitable oil reserves amount to approximately 15 billion tons, which would last for about 32 years at current production levels.

As for geological recoverable reserves, they are estimated at around 31 billion tons, sufficient for 62 years.

Ongoing Exploration Efforts

Novak emphasized that additional volumes of oil are regularly added to the national balance sheet through geological exploration and drilling activities. In his view, the main objective is to ensure that the country maintains reserves sufficient for 30 to 50 years and to preserve that balance over time.

"Therefore, the government and the Ministry of Natural Resources, our geologists, are constantly drilling and searching for oil,” Novak said.

Previous Assessments

At the end of September last year, Russia's Energy Minister Sergey Tsivilev stated that only about half of the country's total oil reserves are economically viable from a geological exploration standpoint.