OREANDA-NEWS. April 12, 2012. The Gazprom Management Committee reviewed the performance of the Gazprom oil business and addressed the suggestions on increasing the oil production volumes.

It was noted that Gazprom was among the leaders of the domestic oil industry. Between 2006 and 2011 the annual oil production by Gazprom Group (accounting the oil volume produced by affiliates and joint ventures, in proportion to the ownership stake) has increased by 18 per cent – from 45.6 to 53.9 million tons. Such growth in volumes has been achieved through development of the existing oil assets and acquisition of stakes in the new ones.

The oil business of Gazprom hinges on the Gazprom Neft operations; compared to 2010, in 2011 the refining volumes of Gazprom Neft increased by almost 7 per cent (40.5 million tons) and the sales via the premium segments increased by more than 37 per cent (to 19.55 million tons).

The Company's high performance in 2011 together with the managers' efforts aimed at maximizing the profit and reducing the costs allowed Gazprom Neft to reach a record EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) value – USD 10.16 billion – therefore being on top of other Russian oil companies in terms of EBITDA growth.

Gazprom Group is planning to increase the annual oil production volumes to 80 million tons by 2020. Achieving that, the Company will develop available reserves and foreign assets as well as implement new projects.

In particular, the operations will be conducted in Western Siberia, Volga-Urals region and Eastern Siberia. Beyond Russia the geological exploration and oil production operations are to be carried out in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America.

The issues surrounding efficiency of the Gazprom Group oil business as well as suggestions on increasing the oil production volumes will be reviewed at the Board of Directors meeting.
Background

In September 2006 the Board of Directors approved the Company's Oil Business Strategy. The document defines that one of the major tasks for Gazprom Group is to reach the leading positions in the Russian and global oil industry.

The aggregate А+В+С1+С2 oil reserves of Gazprom Group exceed 3 billion of tons as of January 1, 2012.

Gazprom Neft, a subsidiary of Gazprom, is focused on oil and gas exploration, development, recovery and marketing as well as petrochemicals production and sales. The company operates in Russia's largest oil and gas bearing regions, namely the Khanty-Mansiysk and Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrugs, the Tomsk, Omsk and Orenburg Oblasts. The main oil refining facilities of Gazprom Neft are located in the Omsk, Moscow and Yaroslavl Oblasts and Siberia. The company owns a network of almost 1.7 thousand filling stations in Russia and abroad.