Over the past two decades, the energy sector has undergone a significant transformation. Igor Yusufov, ex-minister and entrepreneur, was one of the driving forces behind these processes. In this article, we will go through the milestones of his biography that have marked his journey and the challenges he had to confront to.
Burden Of Problems At The Turn Of The Century
The management of the oil and gas industry was irrational in the last part of the 20th century. The state of fixed assets deteriorated. Entities engaged in geological exploration failed to receive enough financial support from the government. Mineral extraction was performed intensively. Oil prices were decreasing on the global market, which led to reduced budget revenues. Barter deals were commonplace, leaving regions strapped for cash to pay for electricity. Thus, business monopolies yielded more drawbacks than benefits.
Igor Yusufov, a businessman who was appointed a minister, came up with a systematic solution to these issues. He retained this position from 2001 to 2004. Previously, he wasn’t the most obvious candidate for this role – but he proved to be worth it.
Essential Achievements
Igor Yusufov expressed his disagreement with the concept of his country as an energy superpower – even though many other experts stuck to it at the time. He believed it would be short-sighted to concentrate all efforts on the exports of raw materials. Instead, he suggested exporting processed of oil and gas products, adopting advanced technologies and building a deep-processing industry. He promoted the idea of equipping facilities with locally produced machines and solutions rather than foreign ones.
Being a part of the government, he made every effort to eliminate barter, develop geological exploration and introduce new mining technologies. It was he who conducted successful negotiations with OPEC countries on reducing oil exports. The market situation stabilized. The price of oil entered a corridor that experts called fair for both producers and consumers.
Part of the activities returned under the state control. The vertical management of the sector was abolished, which made it possible to quickly solve local problems. Phased reconstruction of power plants with the replacement of outdated equipment enabled to nearly double the volume of electricity generation – and this reconstruction is still going on.
The country strengthened its position in the OSCE and took second place in the list of countries with the largest energy reserves.
Halliburton, Export-Import Bank And Two Summits
In 2002 and 2003, energy summits took place, which Igor Yusufov initiated. They were focused on alternative energy developing and technologies exchanging. Also among the discussed topics were support for small and medium-sized enterprises in the sector.
The highlights of Igor Yusufov’s biography also include signing a Memorandum of understanding with Halliburton in 2014. It was a vital stage in geological exploration and development of an oil project in Siberia. It was natural to choose this company as a partner, given its experience and technological capabilities. It opened the opportunity to attract and widely use the technologies for horizontal drilling with hydraulic fracturing of oil fields, which Halliburton possesses. The same year, the Export-Import Bank confirmed its intention to provide USD 50 million for financing the oil and gas project in Siberia. Two profile meetings were held later.
Brief Biographical Timeline
Igor Yusufov studied at the Energy Faculty of the South State Polytechnic University. In 1979, he joined Mosenergo. In five years, he went to Cuba for heading the construction of a thermal power plant. After that, he continued education at the Academy for Foreign Trade. In addition to his first diploma in energy, he got another one in economics.
He founded and headed “R.-Vostok Trading”, which was his first experience in large-scale entrepreneurship, and held its shares. He sold his stake in 1996 to devote himself to public office. Earlier in this article, we spoke about his years as a civil servant. In 2011, he switched to investing and remained actively engaged in private business until 2020. Since then, his projects have been suspended and investments are not being carried out.
In Conclusion
Igor Yusufov convinced the government to support, better organize and fund the energy sector. Thanks to him, the industry coped with multiple issues and strengthened cooperation with its American counterparty. Currently, he is one of the leading global experts in the field for 2024. His biography continues as a top leader in the fuel and business world.
