While investment opportunities still exist in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector of the Russian energy industry for the construction of gas liquefaction plants, the government has turned its focus on the nuclear power generation sector.

The idea is to attract significant foreign investment by diversifying and transmitting nuclear energy through the establishment of various nuclear plants and other technologies.

New Country Industry Forecasts from the Frost & Sullivan Economic Research and Analytics team addressing the Russian Energy Industry show that particular opportunities exist in the oil and electricity as well as nuclear energy sectors of the industry.

The increasing nuclear power generation is expected to trigger demand for nuclear power reactors and nuclear gas turbines. Russia is emphasising on upgrading and maintaining its old reactors and nuclear plants to enhance the electricity generation

The demand for electricity and natural gas may rise steeply due to an expected boom in automobile sector, an increase in the number of households, urbanisation, and growth in the transport sector. In the wake of such enormous demand, Russia is trying to stave off energy security-related challenges by encouraging energy-efficient consumption patterns among Russian households. It also hopes to satisfy the country’s energy need through substantial R&D efforts and domestic production augmentation.

“The huge untapped oil reserves, particularly in Western Siberia, provide immense prospects for oil exploration activities,” says Mary John P, Research Associate for Frost & Sullivan’s Economic Research and Analytics Group. “However, the underdeveloped refineries in the oil and gas segment require huge investments for upgrades and expansion.”

Transneft and other state-owned companies are looking to increase the transmission and distribution network using sophisticated technology to enhance distribution efficiency. The Government has been encouraging new pipeline projects and the adoption of latest technologies for these projects, both domestically and internationally.

Russia is also focusing on the development of the huge Shtokman gas fields in the Barents Sea, which will increase natural gas production – particularly LNG. As oil drilling projects and the amount of gas production help exceed internal gas demand, Russia will continue to increase exports to satisfy international demand.

Coal is another export-friendly sector, especially since Russia is the fifth largest coal producer in the world. This abundance of raw materials, coupled with privatisation of the economy, has increased competition in the energy sector.

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