Rosneft CEO lays out Russia’s enormous prospects for meeting global energy demands

Energy concerns in emerging economies are “skyrocketing” and global energy consumption is on the rise, requiring creative solutions and technological know-how, said Igor Sechin, CEO of the Russian government-owned oil company Rosneft.

Russia is in an excellent position to help meet the world’s energy demands, thanks to its rich energy resources, open and stable political environment, and taxation system incentivizing the development of oil and gas production. “We will make a considerable contribution to energy security,” he said. He added that the “prerequisites” for tapping into that potential are investments, technology and equipment. Recent changes have been increasing opportunities in the Russian market. In late September, Russia introduced tax breaks to encourage oil firms to explore hard-to-reach undersea fields, part of a bid to tap into new reserves.

Sechin explained what he believes to be the challenges of other energy markets. The US currently has restrictions on crude exports, West Africa suffers from a lack of engineering resources, Europe faces falling production, and the Middle East must deal with an unstable political situation in recent years.

Rosneft, meanwhile, is eyeing projects in the Far East and the Arctic. Offshore projects, he said, offer “huge potential” in increasing the resource base and offsetting declining production in mature fields. At the same time, this would help supply oil and gas to Europe and the Asia Pacific, he added. Rosneft and ExxonMobil are partnering to build a joint LNG plant in Russia’s Far East. The first section of the plant is set to be completed by 2018 at the latest, and would have a capacity of 5 million tons per year. Currently, two new shipyards are planned, and the company is preparing to engage in shipbuilding. “We are for long-term relations with partners,” and stand by the principles of cooperation and trade, including cooperation in the Asia Pacific region, he said.

 
This news story is based on the Closing session “Special Address” at the 2013 World Energy Congress.