The strategic implications of Russia’s eastern oil resources

The hydrocarbon potential of Russia’s eastern regions has been apparent since the Soviet era, when the authorities imagined that oil and gas production from the area would supplement and ultimately replace West Siberian output. However, the remoteness of the region, a lack of funds and the continued success of the oil and gas sector in the west of the country meant that it was not until the 1990s that serious exploitation of eastern fields was initiated, and even then the original Sakhalin 1 and 2 projects remained Russia’s only significant eastern oil and gas investments until 2008