Russian ministry sees hydrogen's inclusion in list of resources setting stage for exploration, production

MOSCOW. July 25 (Interfax) - Hydrogen has been included in Russia's national Classifier of Mineral Resources and Subsoil Water as an independent mineral resource on the initiative of the Natural Resources Ministry, which makes it possible to start exploring for and extracting it, the ministry told Interfax.

Hydrogen is a clean fuel and, in addition to conventional means of extracting it from natural gas, coal and water, there is potential for exploration and extraction of natural hydrogen, which could significantly reduce the cost of obtaining it, the ministry said.

Furthermore, extracting natural hydrogen could potentially be more environmentally friendly than conventional ways of producing it, such as steam methane reforming and coal gasification, due to the absence of CO2 emissions, the ministry added.

"At the moment, there is no information about potential reserves and resources of hydrogen subsurface deposits, about how hydrogen accumulates in subsurface deposits, the scale and intensity of hydrogen degassing of subsurface deposits. The inclusion of the line item 'natural hydrogen' in the national Classifier of Mineral Resources and Subsoil Water will make it possible to carry out geological exploration work and find prospective blocks for extraction of hydrogen from subsurface deposits," a ministry spokesman said.

Gazprom Hydrogen LLC chief executive Konstantin Romanov said earlier that on July 7 the Federal Agency for Technical Regulation and Metrology (Rosstandart) drew up an order that included hydrogen in the national Classifier of Mineral Resources. This refers to order No. 490-st, dated July 7, 2023, that approved changes (5/2023) to the Classifier of Mineral Resources. The changes go into effect as of August 1. The order has not been publicly released yet; Rosstandart publishes orders on its website within 30 days.