Ugra oil workers are waiting for a new law for SMEs and tax freedom
Prospects for the development of the fuel and energy sector were discussed in the region
Ugra became a platform for a visiting meeting of the Russian Gas Society and the Union of Oil and Gas Industrialists of Russia. The events took place in Khanty-Mansiysk and Berezovo, where the first gas field in Western Siberia was discovered 70 years ago. The event was attended by industry veterans, fuel and energy sector supervisors and regional leadership. Among the main topics of discussion are issues of import substitution, technological sovereignty of the industry, as well as a forced reduction in oil and gas production.
Thus, according to the data announced by the Governor of Yugra Natalya Komarova, at the end of 2022, 535 million tons of oil were produced in Russia, and for the current year the forecast is 517 million tons.
“The decrease is due to the agreement in the format of the OPEC+ agreement. Our task now is to ensure that such a regulated reduction in oil production does not in any way affect the amount of work associated with investing in the fuel and energy complex, oil and gas production and the quality of life of people,” Natalya Komarova voiced the state of affairs.
Similar trends, as noted by the Chairman of the State Duma Committee and President of the Russian Gas Society Pavel Zavalny, are observed in the gas industry. This year alone, the decrease in exports due to pipeline gas supplies to Europe will amount to 120 billion cubic meters.
“At its peak, we exported about 250 billion cubic meters of gas, of which 30 billion were in the form of LNG, and 220 billion were pipeline gas. It is clear that such a decrease is a loss of revenue. At the same time, the price of gas even before this crisis was around $200 per thousand cubic meters. In the last year it has remained at a much higher level, now it is 400-500 dollars. Yes, there are losses, but they are not critical. At the same time, gas supplies to other areas are steadily increasing,” Zavalny assured.
We are talking, in particular, about gas consumption within the country, which is steadily increasing. According to the head of the gas society, this is due to economic development and growing demand for electricity.
“In the electricity sector, more than half of the energy is produced from natural gas. In addition, the implementation of eastern projects is accelerating, in fact, export diversification is underway. According to Power of Siberia, exports now amount to 15 billion cubic meters of gas. Within two years we will reach the figure according to the project – 38 billion cubic meters. An agreement was signed with the People’s Republic of China on the Far Eastern route – 10 billion cubic meters of gas,” Zavalny informed.
Meanwhile, Natalya Komarova emphasized the importance of reducing the impact of negative trends in the industry. According to her, this is possible by working on several large-scale areas of the industry – reproducing the mineral resource base, stimulating geological exploration, expanding the possibilities of tax regimes for oil and gas companies, reducing dependence on imported technologies and equipment used in oil and gas production.
As a clear example, Natalya Komarova cited seismic exploration work in the western part of Ugra. The project is being implemented jointly with the Russian government, the Federal Assembly and oil and gas industry enterprises. “This is done for the purpose of confirming hydrocarbon deposits. According to prospective estimates, this is 1.2 billion tons of oil and 1.4 trillion cubic meters of gas, including 1.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas,” the governor said about the industry’s prospects.
For his part, the President of the Union of Oil and Gas Industrialists of Russia Gennady Shmal pays great attention to the problem of attracting small businesses to the industry. According to the federal expert, the time of Samotlor, Fedorovka and other large fields has passed; today, as a rule, sites with reserves of 2-3, maximum 5 million tons of hydrocarbon are opened. At the same time, large companies show practically no interest in them. The reason is low profitability.
“There is only one way out – to attract small companies that can work in these fields. This requires a special law on small businesses in the oil and gas industry. Not a single small company in the oil industry fits the criteria of a small business. Extraction of 100 thousand tons per year is a pittance for the industry, but the volume of financial turnover is high for organizations that are now classified as SMEs. In addition, there are many nuances in the relationship with vertically integrated oil companies. Today in Russia there is only one territory – Tatarstan – that has successfully integrated small businesses into the projects of large companies. And here production does not decrease, but, on the contrary, shows an increase.
Traditionally, the conversation turned to the extraction of “difficult” oil. Representatives of the professional community called the development of TRIZ one of the main tasks for the development of the industry. And here experts assign a significant role to small businesses. “World experience has shown that new technologies that were used in the extraction of hard-to-recover oil were developed by small companies. Another issue where we again talk about new technologies is increasing the oil recovery factor. Here we are still behind, and we have something to work on,” summed up Gennady Shmal.