WASHINGTON – Between international sanctions against Russia and a global drop in commodity prices, one might expect dark days in the Russian oil and gas sector.

Yes, revenues are down from the boom times of 2014, as they are everywhere. But at the same time Russian crude production is up 6 percent from 2012 and gas exports to Europe are actually increasing, says Tatiana Mitrova, a fellow at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy.

The question now circulating around international leaders and financiers is how long that can continue, as Russia eats into its reserves and is limited in its ability to develop new ones by international sanctions preventing the import of fracking and other advanced drilling technology – the result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2014.

“Technological sanctions will have an impact over time,” Mitrova said at the Atlantic Council in Washington Wednesday. “There is no expertise in Russia. Rosneft tried to do it in-house. They’re realizing you can not replace the global oil service industry.” [read more]