An oil tanker is moored at the Sheskharis complex, part of Chernomortransneft JSC, a subsidiary of Transneft PJSC, in Novorossiysk, Russia, Oct 11, 2022. (PHOTO / AP)

ST. PETERSBURG - Oil export from Russia to India increased 19 times and amounted to 41 million tons in 2022, Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Alexander Novak said.

By 2026, Russia's capacity of main oil pipelines leading to Asia is planned to be expanded by 32 million tons, and a total of 600 km of oil pipelines will be built, said Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak

In an op-ed published Thursday in the journal Energy Policy, Novak called Russia's current energy policy a "Turn to the East." He noted that in May 2022, oil supplies from Russia to Asian countries exceeded the volumes sent to Europe for the first time. In 2022, Russia's oil exports to friendly countries increased 76 percent, and exports of petroleum products increased by 20 percent.

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As he mentioned, Russia redirected almost 40 million tons of oil and petroleum products from Western markets to Eastern markets last year.

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The Russian government is directing efforts to further develop infrastructure to increase energy exports to the Asia-Pacific region, Novak said. By 2026, the capacity of main oil pipelines leading to Asia is planned to be expanded by 32 million tons, and a total of 600 km of oil pipelines will be built. Projects are also being implemented that will allow Russia to export up to 100 billion cubic meters of pipeline gas to the East.