"Russia has achieved 70-90% energy sovereignty," says Rector Viktor Martynov
Depending on the sector, Russia's energy sector relies on domestic technologies for between 70% and over 90%. However, in 2014, the level of import substitution for most key areas was critically low. This was stated by Viktor Martynov, Rector of the Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas (National Research University) and Academician of the Russian Academy of Education, commenting on the current challenges in achieving technological sovereignty in the energy sector.
Achieving technological sovereignty in the development of hard-to-recover hydrocarbon reserves (HRCR) is crucial, the Rector noted. Most traditional oil and gas reserves have already been depleted. According to geological exploration data, the likelihood of discovering new similar large onshore fields is low. In particular, Russia needs to develop the resources of the Arctic shelf.
One effective method for extracting hard-to-recover reserves is hydraulic fracturing (HF).
"The largest HF equipment manufacturers, which accounted for up to 90% of supplies, left Russia due to sanctions, putting the market at risk. Today, import substitution of reagents and fluids for HF has been practically achieved, and serial production of specialized fleets has begun—this is a significant achievement," said Viktor Martynov.
Russia has developed and tested the world's first low-temperature gas condensate stabilization technology, which can be used on the Arctic shelf, the rector added. Gas condensate is a valuable raw material due to its high content of high-octane gasoline fractions.
"Since the imposition of sanctions, the country has developed and patented a number of its own natural gas liquefaction technologies, including two large-capacity technologies that effectively utilize the advantages of low air temperatures. It is gratifying that Gubkin University graduates are among the authors of these patents. "The production of critical equipment for LNG production has also been localized," said Viktor Martynov.
The rector also noted that progress has been made in other areas. For example, in 2025, the production of catalytic cracking catalysts reached a level sufficient to meet domestic demand.
"It is important to develop technologies that outpace imports. Much depends on this. Among the most promising are hydrogen energy, the extraction and processing of rare earth metals, hard-to-recover minerals, the development of new generations of catalysts for oil refining and petrochemicals, and much more. Energy consumption will grow by 2-3% per year, as the development of artificial intelligence, IT, and data center technologies requires ever-increasing amounts of energy. Hydrocarbons will play a leading role in meeting these needs," Viktor Martynov emphasized.
