Old wells are drowning: Ministry of Energy prepares measures to save depleted fields

The Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Natural Resources are developing a set of measures to support hydrocarbon fields in the late stage of operation. As Alexander Kozlov, head of the Ministry of Natural Resources, told RIA "Novosti", the problem of high depletion and water cut primarily concerns traditional production regions – Western Siberia, the Volga region, and the Caucasus.

The key technological difficulty is the increase in operating costs. In the late stage of development, the proportion of water in the produced fluid sharply increases, which must be separated, used in the technological process, or disposed of. This multiplies the cost of each barrel extracted and makes wells unprofitable where oil accounts for less than 10–15% of the volume of the lifted mixture. Without additional support measures, the completion of development of such fields becomes economically inevitable, which threatens job cuts and the loss of the raw material base.

The Minister noted that for solid minerals, the situation is the opposite: Russia annually ensures an increase in gold and silver reserves at a level exceeding production. According to preliminary estimates, gold production in 2025 amounted to 480–485 tons, silver – 2600–2800 tons. For 2026, an increase to 480–500 tons of gold and 2800–3000 tons of silver is predicted.