Alexander Novak.. bid to beat sanctions
Russia seeks new energy partners
MOSCOW, November 23, 2014
Moscow will seek new partners in countries that have not imposed sanctions on it if Western oil and gas companies pull out of projects with Russia, Energy Minister Alexander Novak said.
The sanctions over Russia's role in the Ukraine crisis have targeted the delivery of oil technology, goods and services, aiming to make it harder for Moscow to access new oil sources, reported the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.
"If Western companies decide for themselves not to take part in organising investment projects in the long term, we will invite investors from countries, which have not imposed sanctions against us and our oil and gas companies," Novak told RIA news agency.
Russia, the world's biggest energy exporter, relies on oil and gas exports for about half its federal budget. The sanctions affect its offshore exploration in the Arctic and development of the hard-to-recover oil deposits.
US oil major Exxon Mobil has had to suspend work on offshore exploration in the Arctic with Russian oil producer Rosneft and Royal Dutch Shell has suspended development of hard-to-recover oil in Russia's Bazhenov formation with Gazprom Neft. – TradeArabia News Service