Russian Federation [National and regional programmes on the production of hydrogen using nuclear energy]

The Russian Federation, one of the world's big energy superpowers, is rich in natural energy resources. It has the largest known natural gas reserves of any country on earth, representing 32% of the world's proven reserves. Furthermore, it has, with 157 billion t, the world's second largest coal reserves (10% of the explored coal reserves). The Russian Federation is the largest oil producer of the non-OPEC countries, and the second largest in the world after Saudi Arabia. It has the biggest oil shale reserves in Europe, equal to 35.47 billion t of shale oil. Last but not least, it possesses 8% of the proven uranium reserves. In recent years, the Russian Federation has identified the gas sector as being of key strategic importance. The share of natural gas as a primary energy source is remarkably high compared with the rest of world. Gazprom has a monopoly for the natural gas pipelines and has the exclusive rights to export natural gas, and thus controls their access to the European market. The total primary energy consumption in the Russian Federation was 665 Mtoe in 2007, down from 871 Mtoe in 1990, with 55% covered by natural gas, 20% by oil and 15% by coal. It is the world's fourth largest electricity producer after the USA, China and Japan. In 2007, it produced 1013 TW.h of electricity. Roughly 67% of the Russian Federation's electricity is generated by thermal plants, 17% by hydropower and 17% by nuclear reactors. The Russian Federation is the world's leading net energy exporter and a major supplier to the European Union. In the Russian Federation, about 40% of electric power and 85% of heat supply, mainly in cogeneration, is covered by regional power industries with power plant units of ∼300 MW(th).