MOSCOW: Russia’s oil and gas sector has got over the U.S. sanctions successfully and increased oil output by 400,000 barrels in the past two years, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said at a ministerial session of the CERAWeek conference on Monday. “Despite the sanctions that were imposed on a number of our companies, our oil and gas sector has managed not only to overcome the difficulties but even to demonstrate positive dynamics. In the past two years, Russia’s oil output has gone up by 400,000 barrels,” he said. “The financial status of our companies is much, much better than of many foreign companies,” he said. “They have a small debt load, the debt/EBITDA ration of less than 1, and a small credit indebtedness.”
“Our companies have managed to build up the output volumes and, on top of that, to raise efficiency and to bring down the prime costs that stand at $ 10 to $ 15 per barrel on the average,” Novak said. He said the returns on Russian oil and gas projects were among the world’s highest. “Opportunities for cooperation in the energy sector yield good economic results and have good investment prospects,” Novak said, adding that foreign investors account for about 25% of Russia’s overall output. “We are open [for cooperation] and want foreign companies to take part in the implementation of projects in Russia,” he indicated.
Russia’s Energy Ministry sees big interest from American companies to investing in Russia, Alexander Novak said. “Naturally, today we are having contacts with many businessmen and we feel big interest to Russia,” he told the CERAWeek conference.
