MOSCOW, July 9 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s oil reserves are no longer a state secret, according to a resolution signed by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and posted on the government’s legal information website on Tuesday.
Previously, all information about reserves of strategic mineral resources and the volumes of their extraction, production and consumption was classified under Russian law.
The resolution, prepared by the Natural Resources Ministry and signed by the prime minister on Friday, declassifies information about reserves of oil as well as gas dissolved in oil.
The Natural Resources Ministry earlier said the resolution would simplify the procedure for obtaining information about oil and dissolved gas reserves in Russia, specifically in the Urals and the Khanty-Mansi region of West Siberia.
The declassified data will help make hydrocarbon deposits more attractive to investors and boost the prospects of seeking out new deposits in West Siberia, the ministry said.
