MOSCOW, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- Russian oil company Rosneft said it was still one of the world's premier energy explorers despite the production gains from the United States.
New drilling technologies in shale deposits helped make the United States one of the world's leading energy producers. The U.S. Energy Information Administration, the analytical arm of the U.S. Energy Department, said Russia was No. 3, behind the United States, in terms of oil production as of 2012.
Rosneft Chief Executive Officer Igor Sechin said, however, there was no long-term threat from the United States.
"We have a 100-year work prospect," he was quoted Sunday as saying by state news agency RIA Novosti. "As for the shelf, we have no other alternative. In general, oil needs to be extracted,"
Sechin said Rosneft can lay claim to 1.5 percent of the world's explored oil and natural gas reserves and holds licenses worth 42 billion tons of oil equivalent.
Rosneft last month expanded into the natural gas market by acquiring a 40 percent stake in Arctic Russia B.V. from Italian energy company Enel. Rosneft said the transaction will help with its objective of producing 3.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas per year and transform the company into the largest independent natural gas producer in Russia.
