ST. PETERSBURG, December 7. /TASS/. Oil production on the Russian Arctic shelf by 2030 according to the optimistic forecast will reach only 18 mln tonnes per year, Vasily Bogoyavlensky, Research Director of Oil and Gas Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences said Monday, citing the results of the study.

"I believe that in the next 15 years until 2030 shelf with oil will not help us. According to overoptimistic forecast, if the development of all open fields begins, best-case scenario is that in 2030 we will reach 18 mln tonnes, which is 3.5% of our annual production," he said.

At the same time, the expert spoke optimistically about the possibilities of import substitution of the equipment for the development of offshore fields. According to him, Russia has a lot of potential in this sector, and in a few years, the country could reach 100% replacement of foreign technology on the shelf.