Russia is set to run out of 'black gold', vital for its survival

Russia's war against Ukraine is largely funded by its energy sources. These sources are increasingly at risk of being irreversibly exhausted. Several measures have been taken in the West to 'devalue' these sources, such as oil, gas, oil prices, and so on.

According to Kazakh media outlet InBusiness, out of Russia's 31 billion tonnes of reserves, only 13 billion tonnes are accessible to other countries. Moreover, a large part of these reserves is difficult to extract.

At the current extraction rate of more than 500 million tonnes per year, the reserves will be depleted in just 26 years, according to the Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Alexander Kozlov. However, it is estimated that these rates will increase in the coming years, from 516 million in 2025 to 540 million within three years. The reserves will therefore run out even sooner than the most optimistic forecasts suggest.

According to Alexander Dyukov, head of Gazprom Neft, oil from the more recently exploited fields is also hard to extract. By the start of the next decade, more than half of Russia's total production is expected to be classed as hard-to-extract reserves. To avoid making a loss, the state will have to finance the necessary extraction technology and simplify the tax system.

(MH with AnVa - Source: InBusiness - Photo: © Unsplash)