On Thursday, Russian Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin warned that within the next few years, the global oil market will face supply shortages due to the present lack of investment in future production capacity in the industry.

He noted that oil production capacity is now “underinvested” due to the “actions of Western countries.” He was specifically citing the shift of attention towards renewable energy across the world which has led energy companies to slash their investments in future hydrocarbon production.

Sorokin continued, “Investments [in oil production] are now 20-25% below the pre-Covid level, which means that in three to five years we will have a fairly significant drop in new, commissioned capacities. This means that the burden will fall on the OPEC+ countries that are trying to continue to invest.”

His remarks reinforce similar statements by OPEC, which has argued there is not enough financing of future production capacity presently, as attention shifts to renewable energy projects even as demand for hydrocarbons continues to rise.

Recent reports by OPEC have highlighted that crude oil is expected to continue to be the dominant form of energy powering the world, and that to meet demand, the industry will require $12.1 trillion in investment by 2045.

Russia announced earlier in the week it will continue its unilateral 500,000 barrel per day production cut for three more months, until the end of June. The announcement lent support to crude prices, following their sharp decline last week on fears of the banking crisis in the West possibly leading to a weakening of global energy demand.

In March, Russia had announced it would unilaterally cut its oil production by 500,000 barrels per day in response to the Western nations attempting to impose a price cap on Russian seaborne crude. The production cut was intended to tighten supplies globally, and trigger increases in prices which would add to already elevated Western energy costs.