The problematic field of replenishment of hydrocarbon reserves at the present time and the growth of the share of hard-to-recover reserves in the structure of the mineral resource base

The article deals with the problems of replenishment of reserves at the present time, when most of the gas and oil fields of traditional areas have been developed by more than 50% and are at the III or even IV stage of industrial development. There is an increase in the share of "hard-to-recover" reserves in the structure of the mineral resource base and a forecast is given for the dominant role in the production of hydrocarbons in the future of hard-to-recover reserves. The article provides data on the current multiplicity of reserves in the Russian Federation in comparison with other world regions of the oil and gas industry. Natural gas consumption is projected to increase in the future until 2050, unlike oil and coal. As an example of the difficulties of developing hard-to-recover reserves, a geological characteristic is given and the difficulties of studying and further developing the Achimov deposits in Western Siberia are described. The characteristic of unconventional hydrocarbon resources in the general sense is given and the problem field of the discovery and development of unconventional hydrocarbon resources at the present time is presented.