OREANDA-NEWS. Gazprom Neft held its Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, which approved the company’s annual report and financial statements for 2012.

In 2012 Gazprom Neft became the leading hydrocarbon producer in the Russian oil industry, reaching volumes of 59.7 million tonnes, 4.3% up on 2011. The company expanded the geography of its activities abroad, and has received its first oil from major new projects in the north of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Area.

The volume of hydrocarbon processing increased by 7% in 2012 – to 43.34 million tonnes. As a result of active modernisation, Gazprom Neft’s refineries switched to the production of Euro-4 and Euro-5 standard fuels in 2012, two years before the date approved by the Government of the Russian Federation.

Gazprom Neft is actively developing a network of filling stations. In 2012, the average daily volume of fuel pumping through each station reached 17.7 tonnes. This represents the best result among Russian oil companies and was ahead of 2011 performance by nearly a quarter.

In 2012, Gazprom Neft’s consolidated net profit increased by 10%, reaching a record RUB 176.3 billion. At the Annual General Meeting in 2012, the company’s shareholders supported the Board of Director’s recommendation to increase the portion of profit allocated to dividends from 22% to 25%. As a result, each share will be credited with RUB 9.3, which is 27% higher than the dividend payment at year-end in 2012. The total amount paid out to shareholders will reach RUB 44.09 billion.

“Gazprom Neft’s production and financial results in 2012 were the best in the company’s history, significantly exceeding those of 2011. High growth rates have allowed us to achieve a number of performance targets set out in Gazprom Neft’s development strategy up to 2020. This enabled us to set new goals and to approve a strategy up to 2025, which aims to further increase the company's value. We have already increased the portion of our profits that are paid to shareholders, and in the near future we plan to introduce an interim dividend,” – noted Alexander Dyukov, Chairman of the Management Board of Gazprom Neft.

Shareholders also considered a number of issues on the agenda of the annual meeting. In addition, the following were elected to the Board of Directors of Gazprom Neft:

Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Management Board of JSC Gazprom, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of JSC Gazprom;

Vladimir Alisov, First Deputy Head of the Legal Department of JSC Gazprom;

Nikolai Dubik, Member of the Management Board of JSC Gazprom, Head of the Legal Department of JSC Gazprom;

Valery Golubev, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of JSC Gazprom;

Alexander Dyukov, Chairman of the Management Board of JSC Gazprom Neft;

Andrey Kruglov, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of JSC Gazprom, Head of the Finance and Economics Department, JSC Gazprom;

Alexander Mikheev, First Deputy Head of the Department of Marketing and Processing of Gas and Liquid Hydrocarbons, JSC Gazprom;

Elena Mikhailova, Member of the Management Board of JSC Gazprom, Head of the Department of Asset Management and Corporate Relations, JSC Gazprom;

Kirill Seleznev, Member of the Management Board of JSC Gazprom, Head of the Department of Marketing and Processing of Gas and Liquid Hydrocarbons, JSC Gazprom;

Valery Serdyukov, an independent director;

Sergei Fursenko, an independent director;

Vsevolod Cherepanov, Member of the Management Board of JSC Gazprom, Head of the Department of Gas, Gas Condensate and Oil Production, JSC Gazprom.