Onshore E&A in Russia to 2035: three things to know

As Russia strives to maintain oil production above 10 million b/d until 2035, how can exploration and appraisal be used to keep the reserve tank full? Russia has an abundance of subsurface potential and operators need to focus on appraising reserves to upgrade them from the possible to the probable category. Exploration is less important to 2035, but the opportunity for conventional discoveries in remote locations such as Yenisei-Khatanga and Nepa-Botuoba is eye-catching. Development of any discoveries will not be cheap as frontier regions lack infrastructure. Explorers will be wary of going full throttle in the search for new hard-to-recover reserves until the right technology for efficient recovery at the Bazhenov or Domanik is available. Advanced technology and the right fiscal incentives are key for maintaining production above 10 million b/d by 2035. Appraisal is vital to keep the reserve tank full until 2035, with exploration shining a light on the reserves picture after 2035.