Its economically viable reserves are sufficient for 19 years. But those figures are conditional, Kiselyov told the newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta.

     “As technology develops, that limit will be constantly pushed back,” he was quoted as saying.

    Russia does have more gas. And efficiency of production is on the rise. Companies are producing gas in new regions in the Arctic, in eastern Siberia and on the Yamal Peninsula. 

    “Under any scenario of the development of the economy, gas reserves will be sufficient for more than 60 years,” he told the newspaper.

    Russian oil production, he said, focused on older areas  — a world-wide trend. But new oil fields are being discovered and production volumes are being replenished by newly-discovered deposits.

   Kiselyov said operations at offshore oilfields in the Arctic were contingent on an oil price of $110 a barrel.

    “If you analyse the situation, peak activity in licensing and in proceeding with work occurred in the period when the price of oil was $100-110 a barrel. I will stand by that price,” he said.

    Oil and gas will remain significant factors throughout the world for another 30 or 40 years. And what is more, Russia has significant large deposits of silicon and lithium which can, over time, replace them.

    “An alternative to them in terms of energy could probably become something linked to the creation of a system of energy storage and accumulation with minimal losses, based on rare metals and rare earth metals,” Kiselyov told the daily.

    “And as far as that goes, we are extraordinarily rich in resources. In terms of quality, of course, our deposits cannot be compared with those in China. But we have plenty of reserves. For example, lithium is in ever greater demand for making rechargeable batteries. And there is lots of it in Russia. It just isn’t being mined.”

    Kiselyov said that the Russian platform is also rich in sedimentary rocks containing vast amounts of silicon.