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New energy policy for Russian shelf

With the new shelf programme, Russia prepares the ground for a new tax model, new company engagement and more exploration, PM Medvedev argues.

Tax breaks will be introduced and private companies will be allowed in, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev says about the new development Programme for the Russian shelf.

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In a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Medvedev presented his government´s programme on the development of the Russian shelf, the by far biggest in the world and probably also the richest in terms of hydrocarbons. The programme, which covers the period until 2030, outlines a shelf production growth of oil to 66,2 million tons of oil per year and 230 billion cubic meters of gas, a transcript from meeting reads.

The programme includes a shift in policies with regard to tax breaks and the role of private companies, as well as with regard to exploration, license conditions and environmental standards. «Lets expand activities, lets include [new] partners, lets create the foundation for private-state partnerships», Medvedev stressed in the meeting, which included several key cabinet ministers.

Although approved both by the Ministry of Economic Development, Ministry of Energy and Ministry of Natural Resouces, the programme will go through another round of discussions before it is adopted. Medvedev commissioned Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich to set up a working group which in the course of three months will elaborate on the key issues, among them the role of private companies and the issue of tax breaks.