MOSCOW (Realist English). Attempts by Western countries to squeeze out Russian suppliers and replace our energy resources with alternative supplies will inevitably affect the entire global economy. The consequences of such a step can become very painful – and first of all for the initiators of such a policy themselves, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting on the current situation in the oil and gas sector.
“It is necessary to ensure a sustainable supply of energy resources to our domestic market. Moreover, in conditions when foreign markets are shrinking, it is crucial to increase supplies for Russian consumers, and in order to stimulate domestic demand, it is necessary to reduce prices wherever possible.” the Head of State stressed.
Putin also set the task of diversifying exports:
“We will proceed from the fact that in the foreseeable future, the supply of energy resources in the western direction will still reduce. Therefore, it is important to consolidate the trend of recent years — to reorient our exports step by step to the fast-growing markets of the South and East. To do this, in the near future it is necessary to identify key infrastructure facilities and begin their construction.”
In addition, the President spoke about the need to develop deep oil refining and gas processing.
“We have already made serious progress in this direction, in this area. Large-scale projects have been implemented, modern enterprises have been put into operation. Now it is crucial to additionally support projects that are in the investment phase in order to put them into production, and to do it as quickly as possible.” he added.
According to Putin, the issues of import substitution of equipment for oil and gas production require special attention:
“This is crucial both for existing fields and for the development of new sites, including in the Arctic, which some colleagues and I talked about the day before.”
