Russia’s Deputy PM Reveals Staggering Oil Reserve Figures

(MENAFN) Russia holds an estimated 31 billion tons of recoverable oil reserves — sufficient to sustain current production levels for more than six decades, Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak announced Friday, cementing the country's position among the world's most resource-rich energy powers.

Novak delivered the figures during a working visit to the Sirius Federal Territory, where he addressed students on the state of the global oil industry and Russia's place within it.

"Today, our country ranks fourth in terms of recoverable oil reserves after Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Iraq. In terms of recoverable, profitable oil reserves, we have enough for 62 years at the current production rate," he stated.

The deputy prime minister was quick to temper any suggestion of looming scarcity, noting that annual exploration and drilling continuously replenish national reserve figures. "The main goal is to ensure that our country has sufficient oil reserves for 30 to 50 years. Maintaining this balance is crucial. Therefore [we] are constantly drilling and searching for more oil," Novak concluded.

According to Russian government estimates, only Iraq (19.6 billion tons), Iran (21.7 billion), and Saudi Arabia (40.9 billion) surpass Moscow in total recoverable reserves. Worldwide, commercially viable oil reserves are estimated at approximately 176.7 billion tons.

Novak underscored oil's enduring relevance to the global economy, noting it currently accounts for 30% of the worldwide energy balance, with demand expected to remain robust in the near term — fuelled primarily by transportation and the petrochemical sector. He also reaffirmed that Russia's oil industry, which contributes roughly 10% of global crude output, has remained stable despite sweeping Western sanctions targeting the sector.

The country currently operates approximately 3,500 active fields spanning Sakhalin, the Arctic shelf, and Eastern Siberia. Last month, energy giant Gazprom Neft unveiled the discovery of a new deposit on the Yamal Peninsula — the Kontorovich field — carrying estimated geological reserves of 55 million tons, making it the largest find in the region in 30 years.

Under Russian classification standards, fields holding between 30 and 300 million tons of recoverable reserves are designated "large." The scale of Kontorovich alone dwarfs the total reserves of many European nations. By comparison, Poland's recently identified Wolin East field — celebrated as the largest discovery in Polish history and the biggest in Europe over the past decade — holds only 22 million tons of recoverable reserves, less than half of the newly found Russian deposit.

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