Minister: Russia to invest $150 bln annually in energy until 2025

MOSCOW, Jun 19 (PRIME) -- Russia will invest U.S. $150 billion annually into the energy sector within the next 10 years, Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Thursday at the World Petroleum Congress.

“Russia has set a goal in its energy strategy that the amount of investments will stand at about $150 billion annually within the next 10 years at least. We will invest in the development of new fields in the Eastern Siberia and in the Far East, in the beginning of shelf works, in the raise of recoverable oil reserves and in new infrastructure,” Novak said.

He separately said at the congress that the E.U. pressurizes countries which participate in the laying of the Russian South Stream pipeline. “In particular, they threatened our Bulgarian colleagues to fully freeze the financing from the European funds. They proposed no viable solutions,” he said.

On June 9, Bulgaria said it suspended preparation for the construction of its section of the South Stream on E.U. orders, while Serbia said that it will have to postpone the laying of the pipeline as well after Bulgaria’s decision. Later both countries said that their governments have not changed their plans to lay the pipeline.

The South Stream pipeline will carry Russian gas to the E.U. bypassing Ukraine. Gas will be pumped to the Bulgaria’s Black Sea port of Varna before extending overland through Serbia, Hungary, and Slovenia to supply gas to the Western Europe via Italy and Austria. The pipeline’s capacity amounts to 63 billion cubic meters.

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