Rustam Minnikhanov: Oil production will remain the basis of the regional economy

On July 13, speaking at the Oil Summit in the village of Karabash, Bugulma region of Tatarstan, Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov said that according to preliminary data in the first half of 2016 Tatarstan has produced 17.288 million tonnes of oil, which is 4.1 per cent more than in the previous year .

According to him, Tatneft Oil Company accounted for 13.7 million tonnes of the total volume of oil produced. Tatarstan President called super-viscous oil production the main driver of growth.

Tatarstan oil industry is stable and meets the basic problems of strategic development, remaining the basis of the stability of the regional economy, Minnikhanov said. He said that the results of the first six months of the year are positive.

"It is becoming more difficult to extract our oil reserves, but modern technology allows not only to maintain, but also to provide sustainable growth of oil reserves and production,"  he added.

"The most important thing is that we are moving on.  Today we are able to refine about 15-16 million tonnes of oil annually. Within a year, this figure will make 22-23 million tonnes, and further industrial processing of petrochemical products is our primary task,” Minnikhanov said.

He said that oil production would also remain the basis of the regional economy.