RUSSIAN FEDERATION: Draft Strategy for the Development and Exploration of Oil and Gas Resources of Russia’s Continental Shelf until 2020
The Draft Strategy on the Development and Exploration of Oil and Gas Resources was drafted by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment with a view to steer the Russian Federation to a more sustainable energy future. In response to crucial issues of environmental protection and depletion of natural resources, the policy sets out broad strategic goals, including improving Russia’s presence on global hydrocarbon markets, ensuring the sustainable and robust development of the fuel and energy sector, strengthening regulatory frameworks for the use of shelf resources in the country, and facilitating industrial development through accelerated deployment of advanced technology. Despite national policies on environmentally sound exploration of natural resources have been pursued in a comprehensive and vigorous way, problems that Russia’s energy sector is confronting remain multiple and interconnected. ----- As global energy markets are teetering on the brink of downturn while the exploitation of Russian mineral base was relatively intense over several decades, the policy calls for redesigning conventional strategies on the development of mineral resources with due consideration of new challenges and uncertainties. The development of the offshore oil and gas sectors will bring numerous economic and social benefits, will contribute to strengthening energy security in the Russian Federation.