Russia

The Russian oil and gas company is combining its experience with that of the leading nuclear-power producer to develop hydrogen and decarbonization projects on Sakhalin Island.

Over the past 30 years Caspian nations such as Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan have built thriving economies on oil and gas wealth led by global energy companies and a handful of megaprojects. As times change, that model may need to be reassessed.

As Canada, Greenland, and even Norway shy away from developing their Arctic oil and gas resources, only Russia and the US remain in the game as Alaska seeks to renew interest in exploration and development of its North Slope.

The newbuilds are slated for delivery in 2024.

Yamal LNG Resource, a subsidiary of Russia’s Novatek, has won exploration and production licenses to expand its Arctic resource base for sustained long-term growth of its LNG business.

Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline is now complete, although gas will not be flowing until regulators issue various approvals, expected by the end of the year.

Russia is pouring investment into liquefied natural gas projects as it seeks to leverage the world’s largest natural gas reserves together with the logistical advantages of delivering it at a competitive price to Asia and Europe along the now-navigable Northern Sea Route.

Extended-reach drilling is becoming more of a mainstream technology as the industry seeks to squeeze difficult reserves and reduce the footprint of projects in fragile environments.

The US remained Europe’s biggest supplier of LNG in Q1 2021, a position it has held since mid-2019 when competition with Russia began to heat up.

Russian oil major Lukoil expanded its Gulf of Mexico presence, acquiring a 50% operator interest in Mexico’s Area 4 offshore license area.