Investors are reluctant to invest in the development of oil and gas production projects in the United States, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak has said.

“Since people have come there, as they say, who belong to the “green”, they do not create new additional incentives for the development of oil production, gas production. First of all, what did President Biden do? He banned the construction of an oil pipeline from Canada to the United States that was under construction before. He banned the use of federal lands for oil and gas production – that is, the holding of the relevant auctions. “Well, naturally, the investors who invested there earlier, they, today, see great uncertainties and are reluctant, let’s say, to develop production,” he said at the forum “New Horizons” of the Russian society “Znanie”.

According to Novak, the US energy industry is stagnating. He said US companies’ super-profits from high oil prices are mostly used to cover losses from falling production and defaults, which were in the 2020 lockdowns.

“But we are seeing a slow recovery of those losses that resulted from the pandemic. For example, this year we expect the US to see an increase in oil production by about 1 million barrels per day, which, in principle, is not much,” the deputy prime minister said.