Russia's greenfields ready and waiting

Russia's greenfields hold abundant cheap reserves. How long can its companies resist the cash flow they offer?

Russia's firms just aren't able to resist the allure of the country's vast untapped greenfield potential. And, in tandem with another bout of weaker oil prices and a robust ruble, a surge in drilling for new fields is a problem for its pledge to keep cutting oil supply. Not that the commitment to the deal with Opec is faltering just yet. Russia's output remained flat for the third month in a row in July—good news as the country welcomed other producer countries to St Petersburg for a meeting of the committee that monitors the cuts. Make no mistake though, if and when the deal falters—and it has been on shakier ground lately—a Russia production ramp-up will be relatively painless due to the n