Oil Resource experts suggest paying special attention to the development of technologies for the extraction of hard-to-recover oil and gas reserves.

The Tyumen Region, which includes the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug (KhMAO), is Russia's largest oil-producing region. About 800 hydrocarbon deposits have been discovered in the region, with total reserves estimated at 60 billion tons of conventional fuel. However, a significant part of them belongs to the category of hard-to-recover reserves (HTR), the development of which requires the use of advanced technologies and significant investments. Which companies will be able to develop these reserves and what will the region get?

Major oil fields and their reserves

There were 421 oil fields in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug as of 2023. The largest of them are:

• Priobskoe — more than 1.6 billion tons of oil;
• Krasnoleninskoye — 1.13 billion tons;
• Samotlorskoye is one of the most developed fields;
• Fedorovskoye and Mamontovskoye are also among the leaders in production.

According to local authorities, oil reserves in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug amount to at least 11.5 billion tons, and a third of them are classified as hard-to-recover.

44 hydrocarbon deposits have been discovered in the Tyumen Region, and their recoverable oil reserves amount to 663.1 million tons. The increase in oil reserves by industrial categories reached 10.7 million tons according to the results of the exploration work carried out in 2020.

The volume of oil production in the region (excluding autonomous districts) amounted to 11.2 million tons by the end of 2020.

The Tyumen Region is a key oil production region in Russia. The region is characterized by a high degree of exploration of reserves and a well-developed infrastructure, which contributes to the intensive development of deposits. At the same time, a significant part of the deposits is already in the depletion stage, which makes it urgent to develop technologies that make it possible to involve hard-to-recover reserves in development.

Hard-to-recover reserves (HTR): volume and prospects

According to Rosnedra, the total reserves of HTR in Russia at the beginning of 2023 amount to 16.5 billion tons, 52% of which are in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug. In particular:

• Bazhenov suite — 350 million tons (production of less than 1 million tons per year);
• Abalak suite — more than 170 million tons (production in 2019 — about 3 million tons);
• Tyumen suite — 3.4 billion tons, is one of the most developed.

A significant increase in the share of HTR in total production is expected as early as 2025. Today, their share is 32%, and by 2030 it may exceed 80%. HTR production is one of the key factors in maintaining oil production in Russia at the level of 540 million tons per year. It is important to take into account that the development of such deposits requires significant investments and government incentives.

Financial contribution of oil production to the regional budget

Tax revenues from oil production are the most important source of income for regional budgets. The current level of production is provided by:

• Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug - the largest donor to the federal budget, annually receives several hundred billion rubles from taxes on mining;
• Tyumen Region — receives significant revenues due to mining in the Uvatsky District.

In both the Tyumen Region and the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, the main source of budget revenue is corporate income tax paid by oil companies. The weight of this tax in the total revenue of the treasury in 2024 was about 70%, or 167.3 billion rubles. Revenues of 165.9 billion rubles are projected for 2025, and 161.4 billion rubles for 2026. The decrease in payments (despite the fact that the overall inflation rate will be around 10%, according to the Central Bank) is directly related, among other things, to a decrease in production volumes in the region.

In the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, by the end of 2024, the corporate income tax amounted to about 110.8 billion rubles, and the corporate property tax - 96.5 billion rubles, which is also paid mainly by oil companies, played an important role.

Widespread development of HTR can support production volumes in both the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug and the Tyumen Region, followed by tax revenues to regional budgets. It is worth noting that it is difficult to calculate how directly this will correlate with the growth of revenues to the local budget, since various types of tax incentives can be used to stimulate production, both at the federal and local levels.

Tax revenues may increase, but tax incentives aimed at stimulating the development of complex deposits with an increase in HTR production remain an important factor. In particular, the application of the tax on additional income (TAI) allows oil companies to postpone the tax burden until they receive real profits. This makes the development of HTR more attractive to investors.

Oil Resource Company and new HTR production technologies

The Oil Resource company is developing a new multifluid thermal technology (MTT), which will significantly increase the production of hard-to-recover oil. This technology:

• uses the injection of a high-temperature agent under high pressure, which promotes the transformation of kerogen into light oil;
• it can increase Russia's recoverable reserves by 50 billion tons;
• in the future, it can increase annual production by 25-30 million tons;
• it allows to involve new areas in the development that were previously considered unprofitable.

The introduction of MTT is planned by 2028, and by 2031 the technology can be scaled to large deposits. According to analysts, this method will increase the coefficient of oil recovery and reduce the cost of developing HTR.

Additional tax revenues from the introduction of new technologies

With an increase in production by 25-30 million tons per year, the budgets of the Tyumen Region and Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug can additionally receive tens of billions of rubles in tax revenues. However, the exact amounts depend on tax incentives, some of which can be redistributed to the federal budget. The use of tax incentives can be an important factor in attracting investors and accelerating the introduction of new technologies.

According to forecasts, with stable oil prices at $75 per barrel, annual investments in the development of new technologies in the Bazhenov suite could amount to 90 billion rubles. This will make it possible to build more than 1,400 new wells and ensure accumulated oil production at the level of 70-75 million tons over 10 years.

The development of HTR is becoming a strategically important area for the Russian oil industry. Success in this field depends on:

• the introduction of new technologies, such as MTT from Oil Resource;
• government support measures, including tax incentives;
• actively attracting investments;
• reducing dependence on foreign technologies and equipment.

With the right approach to HTR development, the Tyumen Region and Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug will be able to maintain their positions as Russia's leading oil-producing regions, ensuring sustainable economic growth and increased budget revenues. Systematic work in this area will not only compensate for the decline in production from traditional fields, but also create new growth points for the domestic oil industry.

Source 72.ru