MOSCOW, June 16 (UPI) -- Major investments in oil operations in the eastern part of Russia will boost export potential by 2035, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said Monday.
Dkorkovich said investments in the oil industry in eastern Russia are expected to grow by more than $1 trillion.
"Oil production and supplies will grow in the eastern region of the country," he said. "The part of the eastern direction in the total exports of oil and petroleum products will increase from 12 percent to 23 percent."
Russia is one of the world's leading oil producers, producing more than 10 million barrels of oil per day on average. Most of the country's oil fields are in the western region of Siberia.
The head of a Russian joint venture between Shell and Gazprom Neft signed an agreement in January to use hydraulic fracturing to tap into an oil formation in Siberia.
When combined with gas exports, oil accounts for about 10 percent of the Russian gross domestic product.
