Russia mulls fiscal changes to boost less-advantaged oil

Last year saw reserve replacement at over 100pc. But there are concerns this is unsustainable without better incentives

The Russian government is discussing options with its largest oil producers to amend the country’s fiscal system to stimulate development of fields with difficult geology and those with heavy crude output. These more challenging deposits are viewed as key to supporting oil reserve replacement as ageing existing sites face decline over the next decades. Russia government officials reported in December that growth in crude and condensate reserves in 2021 was more than 628mn t. The increase was largely achieved through additional appraisal work over the last 12 months on existing producing fields. With overall production levels in 2021 estimated at 517mn t, Russia has achieved reserve replaceme