Europe / Caspian / CIS

Country profile: Russia

Location:

Northern Asia (the area west of the Urals is considered part of Europe), bordering the Arctic Ocean, between Europe and the North Pacific Ocean

Climate:

ranges from steppes in the south through humid continental in much of European Russia; subarctic in Siberia to tundra climate in the polar north; winters vary from cool along Black Sea to frigid in Siberia;

Terrain:

broad plain with low hills west of Urals; vast coniferous forest and tundra in Siberia; uplands and mountains along southern border regions

Size:

17075200 sq. km total (Land area: 16995800 sq. km Water area: 79400 sq.km)

Population:

140,702,094 (July 2008 est.)

Languages:

Russian, many minority languages

Government:

federation

Capital city:

Moscow

Legal system:

based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Currency:

Russian ruble (RUB)

Licensing:

Country profile

In 2007, Russia’s real gross domestic product (GDP) grew by approximately 8.1 percent, surpassing average growth rates in all other G8 countries, and marking the country’s seventh consecutive year of economic expansion. Russia’s economic growth over the past seven years has been driven primarily by energy exports, given the increase in Russian oil production and relatively high world oil prices during the period. Internally, Russia gets over half of its domestic energy needs from natural gas, up from around 49 percent in 1992. Since then, the share of energy use from coal and nuclear has stayed constant, while energy use from oil has decreased from 27 percent to around 19 percent.

Russia’s economy is heavily dependent on oil and natural gas exports. In order to manage windfall oil receipts, the government established a stabilization fund in 2004. By the end of 2007, the fund was expected to be worth $158 billion, or about 12 percent of the country’s nominal GDP. According to calculations by Alfa Bank, the fuel sector accounts for about 20.5 percent of GDP, down from around 22 percent in 2000. According to IMF and World Bank estimates, the oil and gas sector generated more than 60 percent of Russia’s export revenues (64% in 2007), and accounted for 30 percent of all foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country.

Kremlin policy makers continue to exhibit an inclination to advance the state's influence in the energy sector. Taxes on oil exports and extraction are still high, and Russia’s state-influenced oil and gas companies are obtaining controlling stakes in previously foreign-led projects. State-owned export facilities have grown at breakneck pace, while private projects have progressed more slowly or have been met with roadblocks by state-owned companies or by various government agencies.

Energy production and consumption

Oil

Gas

Production:

9 million bbl/day (2007)

656 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Consumption:

2 million bbl/day (2007)

610 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Exports:

5 million bbl/day (2004)

182 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Imports:

100,000 bbl/day (2004)

37 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Reserves:

60 billion bbl (1 January 2006 est.)

47 trillion cu m (1 January 2006)

Major fields:

Russia - recent news

20 Dec 23	Russia: OMV examines decree on OMV assets in Russia According to current information, the Russian President has signed a decree regarding the Yuzhno-Russkoye field. According to this decree, OMV's shareholdings and its interests in the gas field are to be transferred to new Russian companies, with the proceeds from the transfer to be paid into a special account.
13 Sep 23	Russia: NOVATEK and Rosseti sign Agreement to supply power to the Murmansk LNG project NOVATEK and Rosseti have signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement to supply power to the Murmansk LNG project. The Agreement will enable timely start of power supply to the Company’s prospective large-scale Murmansk LNG project, whose distinctive feature is the use of electric drives for process compressors instead of gas turbines.
14 Jun 23	Russia: PetroNeft Resources signs Heads of Terms for potential disposal of Licence 67 PetroNeft has entered into a non-binding conditional Heads of Terms to sell its entire interest in Lineynoye LLC, the subsidiary through which the Company holds its interest in Licence 67, to Pavel Tetyakov (CEO of PetroNeft) for a consideration of Rub 210million (US$2.56m at current exchange rates) plus the assumption of debt.
15 May 23	Russia: LUKOIL commissions the second stage of Kolskaya wind power plant The second stage of the Kolskaya wind power plant (WPP), which is world's most powerful wind farm beyond the Arctic Circle, was launched May 12. The plant was constructed by PJSC EL5-Energo (part of LUKOIL Group). The target generation of the wind farm amounts to about 750 million kWh per year
12 Apr 23	Russia: Novatek to acquire Shell's stake in Sakhalin-2 for $1.16 bln Russia's government is reported to have approved the sale of Shell's former 27.5% stake in the Sakhalin-2 energy project to Russian energy firm Novatek for 94.8 billion roubles ($1.16 billion).