OREANDA-NEWS. On November 13, 2007, Peter O.Brien, vice president and head of the group of financial advisors to the Rosneft's president, took part in the fourth annual Moscow Business Dialogue, an international investment forum, which was organized with the help of the Royal Institute for International Affairs, Chatham House, Rosneft's information division reported.

In delivering his speech on the prospects for Rosneft's development, O'Brien particularly noted that the company intends to increase refining volumes to one million barrels per day in 2008. O'Brien also noted that the company currently has 1,700 service stations. We plan to increase oil production and sales to end-users in the future, and we hope that by 2020, our share of petroleum-product sales in Russia will increase substantially. We also plan to increase oil sales in Europe and Asia, said O'Brien.

Additionally, O'Brien reminded those in attendance that Rosneft's board of directors plans to discuss the Company's new development strategy by the end of the year. The main goals are to increase production and refining, and improve the efficiency of technological development, with timeframes set for 2010, 2015 and 2020, respectively.

While answering journalists' questions following the conference, O'Brien said that Rosneft will adopt its 2008 business plan in December. He refused to specify the document's concrete parameters, stating only that crude oil production in 2008 would exceed the current level. According to O'Brien, Rosneft is basing its business plan on oil priced at USD 60-65 per barrel. O'Brien also noted that the company plans to invest in its new assets, particularly in the oil refineries. A decision as to which specific enterprises would receive investment has not yet been made, however.

Speaking about possible cooperation with Shell, O'Brien said that "concrete issues and signing relevant documents within the framework of the general strategic partnership agreement signed in July are currently being discussed". He mentioned that this discussion would last at least until the end of this year.

O'Brien also disclosed that Rosneft is still not ruling out the possibility of issuing Eurobonds prior to the year's end. We are considering different options and are not ruling out the issuance of USD 2 billion in Eurobonds prior to year-end, he said. According to O'Brien, one of the options involves issuing convertible bonds. But the board of directors has not approved it yet, O'Brien noted.