Putin tells businessmen about Russian energy policy

Russian President Vladimir Putin made a speech at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. He touched on key issues of development of the Russian economy. He said that Russia is diversifying gas exports in the Western and Eastern directions and was going to establish a unified system of gas supplies.

At the same time, the head of the Russian Federation noted that hydrocarbons wouldn’t become cheaper in the world, as these resources were difficult to produce. There are disadvantages and advantages, which are a high level of confidence to invest in the sphere. Putin stated that Russia would develop all Far Eastern regions and carry out work on shelves.

Speaking about a recently-signed treaty with China, Putin noted that it is a profitable project and that the resources of the Kovyktinskoe and Chayandinskoe fields have been underestimated and surpass three trillion cubic meters. According to him, this volume is enough not only for 30 years, but also for 50 years.

As for the problem of mines and quarries, President says that Russia has no plans to launch the automatic issuing of licenses for production of hydrocarbons at a field if a company has a license for geological exploration of the field. He adds that foreign companies can address the Russian government to consider their suggestions if they face some difficulties in the sphere.

According to Putin, Russia won’t deal with traditional energy sources only and will work on developing promising alternatives; but it should be realized that consumption of energy resources will grow in the future, while the structure of their resources won’t change significantly.

Speaking about the financial sphere, the head of Russia stated that the authorities would continue to eliminate trouble players from the banking sector, as the presence of 950 banks in the countries doesn’t meet the financial capacities or reality.