MOSCOW, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Ian Thom, a Russian analyst at energy consultant group Wood Mackenzie, said there isn't enough focus on unconventional resources in the Russian energy sector.
"There has been comparatively less commitment to unconventional resources in Russia," he said in a statement Tuesday from Moscow.
Wood Mackenzie said there's too much focus in Russia on conventional onshore projects instead of tight oil, liquefied natural gas and arctic developments, which may be more difficult to exploit.
Thom said Russian reserves represent about 15 percent of the global oil and natural gas production while its energy sector accounts for 7 percent of the global capital expenditure, funds used by a company to acquire or upgrade its assets.
Russia has focused its own efforts on arctic exploration and LNG options for Asian economies. Thom said there has been some attention to those reserves from international investors but production is still several years down the road.
"Russia is looking to make a shift from easier conventional onshore projects to more difficult and expensive tight oil, LNG and arctic projects, in order to maintain and secure long-term production levels," he said.
