V.Putin: Russia reduces its dependence on oil

Moscow, December 18 - Neftegaz.RU. Russia is successfully weaning itself off oil revenues, President Vladimir Putin said today during an annual end-of-the-year news conference.

On the Pryamaya liniya, now held in video conferencing mode V. Putin said:

• This means that, while we're not completely there, we are nonetheless starting to get off the so-called oil and gas needle adding,
• If someone still wants to consider us as a gas station, then this has no real basis.

According to Investopedia, Russia's oil and gas exports account for 60 % of total exports, and revenues from the oil and gas represent about 30 % of GDP.
While the number is a lot lower than the portion of oil revenues in GDP of most of the world other large oil exporters, it still makes up quite a large portion of budget revenues.

Be that as it may, Russia is preparing for a future with a lot less oil consumption, told Bloomberg Deputy Finance Minister Vladimir Kolychev:

• The peak of consumption may have already passed;
• The risk is rising in the longer term.
• To prepare for this decline in demand, the Finance Ministry is studying several scenarios for oil demand development over the long term, with different levels of demand decline.

For now, it appears there is no clear plan for an energy transition, although Moscow earlier this year released a roadmap to a hydrogen economy, in which zero-emission hydrogen will feature prominently in Russia's energy export mix.
According to the roadmap, Gazprom would begin producing clean hydrogen in 4 years, and NOVATEK, the LNG major, is also planning hydrogen projects for a less oil-dependent future.




Author: Irina Slav