Russian Ambassador Igor Khovaev urged Philippine firms to source for oil and gas in Russia in light of President Rodrigo Duterte’s invitation for a joint oil and gas exploration, stating that it should be a “two-way street.”
“We also invite Filipinos, the Philippine companies, to explore oil and gas in Russia together with Russian companies… not only here in the Philippines but in Russia as well on a mutually beneficial, reciprocal basis,” Khovaev was quoted saying in a CNN report.
He noted that drilling for oil and natural gas is a difficult process given the climate conditions in the Arctic, However, he stressed that Russia has advanced technologies that can make the process easier.
In relation, Duterte’s second visit to Russia resulted in ten business agreements that amounted to around P650 million. This included an agreement to explore the possible construction of nuclear power plants in the country.
“Russia is building nuclear power plants in about 30 countries. Many power plants have already been built and they are functioning well. No incident reported,” he stated in the report.
Khovaev acknowledged that the use of nuclear energy is a sensitive issue at present, but he assured that Russian technologies are the “safest and most sophisticated ones.”