Russian deputy PM, Saudi energy minister discuss oil, hydrogen and nuclear energy

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak discussed oil markets as well as hydrogen and nuclear energy with Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Oct. 13, according to a statement posted on the Russian government website.

Novak said the two countries are also currently working on a project for the full production cycle of solar installations and power generation, following the meeting, which took place on the sidelines of Russian Energy Week.

Novak also met with UAE Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei to discuss bilateral cooperation and the future of hydrogen, as well as the Russian-UAE conference on oil and gas and petrochemicals cooperation due to take place on the sidelines of ADIPEC.

"Russia and the United Arab Emirates have important competitive advantages in developing hydrogen - significant energy potential, underutilized generating capacity, geographical proximity to potential hydrogen consumers, scientific experience in production, transportation and storage of hydrogen..." Novak said, adding that companies are interested in developing this cooperation.

Speaking during an official dinner at the event, Novak said that countries are interested in answering the key challenges of global energy – increasing energy efficiency and ensuring reliable and affordable energy supply through the energy transition.

"I would like to emphasize that Russia has always advocated and continues to advocate for the development of both multilateral and bilateral mutually beneficial energy cooperation," Novak said, according to the statement.

"We are interested in maintaining stable relations with traditional consumers of Russian energy resources and forming stable ties in new energy markets," he added.

Other bilateral meetings during the event included discussions with OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo, Azerbaijan's Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov, and Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Suren Papikyan as well as World Energy Council Secretary General Angela Wilkinson.

The 25th World Energy Congress is scheduled to take place Oct. 24-27, 2022 in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Novak also discussed cooperation with company heads, including TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne.

"We see the most important potential area of cooperation as organizing joint work on sustainable energy. One of the main elements of this is hydrogen," Novak said, according to the statement.

TotalEnergies is already a partner in hydrocarbons production and LNG projects in Russia.

Novak also met with Transneft CEO Nikolai Tokarev and Fortum CEO Markus Rauramo during the event.