Panel discussion with participation of Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexander Novak

Key conclusions

The development of alternative energy will not lead to the abandonment of hydrocarbons in the coming years

“Based on today's assessment and the forecasts we have, hydrocarbon producers, especially oil companies, will continue to dominate the energy balance for at least 50 years,” said Alexander Novak, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.

“In my opinion, the renewable energy sector is currently facing significant pressure. While I agree that a transition to renewable energy is possible in the future, when these technologies reach a high enough level, I find the prospect of achieving this transition within the next few years to be quite optimistic,” said Guzel Valeeva, a student of Kazan State Power Engineering University.

“The future will not be limited to technological developments in only two directions – wind and solar generation. Over the next twenty years, new discoveries will be made, leading to the emergence of more advanced technologies. It is highly likely that we will reach a stage where we need to establish a balance throughout the entire life cycle and evaluate the efficiency of processes, considering extraction, capture, disposal, and decommissioning of facilities. In all likelihood, there will be intense competition among various types of energy sources in the future,” said Sergey Kudryashov, General Director of Zarubezhneft.

The Russian fuel and energy sector was able to build despite sanctions and reorient itself

“In March, we experienced a production decline of approximately 10 per cent compared to previous years. However, we began to steadily recover volumes, and by June, we had successfully restored pre-crisis figures. That is why we expect a modest but still significant increase in production volumes within the oil industry compared to last year. Exports will increase by about 8%. Our oil companies were able to reorient themselves to other markets, were able to establish new logistics chains and find new payment mechanisms,” said Alexander Novak, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.

The energy sector remains in demand and remains promising

“We are now in the fourth energy transition, i.e. the future lies in clean energy. Of course, solar, wind, hydrogen and nuclear energy will be actively developed, but hydrocarbons will remain. There will be enough hydrocarbon energy for the generation of schoolchildren and students who are taking part in the Youth Day today, and for the generation of their children,” said Alexander Novak, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.

“The industry remains interesting and people are going into it despite what is happening in the geopolitical sphere,” said Dmitry Konov, Chairman of the Management Board of SIBUR.

Problems

The development of alternative energy will require addressing the issue of consumables utilization

“There are problems related to utilization. This applies not only to batteries, but also to solar panels and wind turbines. First they are built, and 30 years later, when the end of their operation comes, we cannot solve the problem of their utilization. The same will happen with batteries for electric cars, the production of which is growing, while the existing recycling technologies are very expensive,” said Alexander Novak, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.

“[With the development of electric transport. – Ed.] a number of other problems arise. For example, how can batteries be disposed of after their use-by date. What can we do with them? Because they undergone an irreversible chemical reaction,” said Yaromir Aktanov, a student at Lyceum No. 86 in Yaroslavl.

Solutions

Localization in the fuel and energy sector will allow Russian companies to strengthen their position on the global market

“In the upstream sector, localization of equipment is close to 100%. We see our competitive advantages, and we believe that we have the potential to develop them,” said Sergey Kudryashov, General Director of Zarubezhneft.

“We do not have [a shortage of lithium. - Ed.]. Our country has enough of its own lithium, we just need to mine it. We are doing that. The task is to ensure complete independence from lithium supplies. The parallel task is to learn how to produce our own batteries and energy storage systems,” said Alexander Novak, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.

Hydrocarbon supplies will be reoriented towards the countries of the Asia-Pacific, Middle East, Africa and Latin America

“Where do we see future development? Of course, today, in the CIS countries and the Middle East,” said Sergey Kudryashov, General Director of Zarubezhneft.

“We are reorienting hydrocarbon supplies to the Asia-Pacific region, to countries such as India, Pakistan, as well as countries in Africa and Latin America that need our energy resources,” said Alexander Novak, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.

Read more in the Roscongress Information and Analytical System roscongress.org and on the official website of the Forum: rusenergyweek.com.