Russia To Stop Energy Exports»

Igor Bashmakov, Executive Director of the Center for Effective Energy Use said that Russia might stop energy exports by 2010 because of its low energy efficiency. He made the statement during a round table meeting ?Russia?s energy strategy: problems of energy saving in the fuel and energy sector? on Tuesday, the Izvestia newspaper reports.

The meeting was attended by the representatives of the Russian government, the State Duma, the Federation Council, ministries, government departments, Gazprom, RAO Unified Energy Systems and independent gas producers.

?If we continue developing our oil and gas sector without increasing energy efficiency, we might have to stop exporting energy resources as they will be consumed by the domestic market,? Bashmakov said. He supposes that one of Russia?s main problems in implementing its energy strategy is that Russia does not have a state policy of increasing energy efficiency. ?The market cannot regulate energy saving effectively without help from the state,? he added.