Igor Sechin: the idea of energy transition is aimed at strengthening the unipolar structure of the world order

The idea of energy transition is to strengthen the unipolar structure of the world order, stated Igor Sechin, the Chief Executive Officer of Rosneft, while delivering a keynote speech at the Energy Panel of the 27th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

In his report “Energy transition and phantom barrels: abandon hope, all ye who enter here. Not everyone will be taken to the bright future of the global energy industry!”, the head of Rosneft noted that the concept of energy transition is based on discrimination against the entire world. Even the interests of allies can be sacrificed at any moment. “Friends we might be, but we keep our tobacco apart”, he quoted a Russian saying.

 “This was especially evident when implementing the project of "saving" Europe from purported dependence on Russian energy resources. In fact, by sacrificing its energy security, the EU also gave up its sovereignty”, Igor Sechin noted.

Rosneft Chief Executive Officer quoted data according to which, following the reduction in the purchase of Russian energy resources, the European Union spent more than 630 billion dollars on gas imports from other countries from 2021 to 2023. This value is comparable to Europe's total gas spending over the previous eight years. Investments of the European countries into green energy over the same period are also close to the said amount. The figure is comparable to the GDP of Sweden and Poland, and almost four times higher than the combined GDP of the Baltic states.

As the head of Rosneft said, the increased gas spendings are eating up the margin of such energy-intensive industries as steel making, fertilizers, chemicals, ceramics and glass. As a result, the manufacturing activity in the Eurozone has been on the decline since the middle of 2022, and 32% of German companies are already planning to relocate their manufacture capacity abroad.

Information & Advertising Department
Rosneft
June 8, 2024