Russia begins production at massive Siberian oil fields once deemed unprofitable

Gazprom Neft is developing the Chonsky group, which includes three licensed blocks.

Once the complex reaches full capacity, up to 2 million tons of oil will be supplied annually to the Eastern Siberia–Pacific Ocean pipeline system, Interfax noted.

Chonsky group development was earlier considered unprofitable due to its remote location and complex geology. The geological oil reserves of the Chonsky group of fields exceed 1.3 billion tons, or 9.5 billion barrels.

"After unprofitable years in 2023 and 2024, and a slight profit increase in 2025, Gazprom is trying to demonstrate new growth points by announcing the launch of oil production at the Chonsky group of fields in Eastern Siberia," the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine stated.

"The Kremlin views the project as one of the elements for the further reorientation of Russian oil exports to Asian markets."

The main production infrastructure to launch the fields took about two years to build. However, on the scale of the Russian oil sector, the new asset remains relatively small, Ukrainian intelligence noted.

The expected production level will reach up to 2 million tons of oil per year, while overall production in Russia exceeds 500 million tons annually.

"Even the launch of new oil projects in Eastern Siberia does not change the general trend: easily accessible reserves in Russia are gradually being depleted, and further production increases require massive investments, tax breaks, and technologies that Russia has increasingly limited access to," Ukraine's intelligence concluded.

The share of hard-to-recover oil in Russia's total output has sharply increased. Last year, it accounted for 63%, and it is projected to reach 83% of total production by 2035.

Russia's Economic Development Ministry forecasts that oil production in the country will continue to decline for the fourth consecutive year in 2026, falling to its lowest level in 17 years.