[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Russia's Minister of Natural Resources announced on the 11th (local time) that if resources continue to be extracted at the current rate, oil will be depleted in 59 years and natural gas in 103 years.
Alexander Kozlov, Minister of Natural Resources, stated this in an interview with the domestic media outlet RBC. However, he projected that continued geological surveys in currently hard-to-access areas could increase the reserves.
Earlier last month, Yevgeny Kiselyov, head of the Subsoil Use Agency, said in an interview with domestic media that Russia's oil reserves would last for 58 years and gas reserves for about 60 years.
However, Kiselyov also added that the expected extraction period could change if exploration expands through technological development, especially in the Arctic region.
According to statistics from Russian resource authorities, Russia's production of oil and gas condensate (volatile liquid hydrocarbons) decreased by about 9% compared to the previous year, recording 512.68 million tons last year. Russia's gas production last year was 692.3 billion cubic meters.
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