OREANDA-NEWS. The Gazprom Board of Directors took note of the information regarding the fulfillment of license agreements for subsurface use resources in Russia.

At present Gazprom Group (including Gazprom Neft) holds 309 subsurface use licenses. 248 of them allow for hydrocarbon production, including 36 for hydrocarbon production in the continental shelf.

The meeting pointed out that Gazprom's license management system was vertically integrated. All the procedures of license acquisition, reissuance and return are clearly specified in regulatory documents and controlled by Gazprom's Central Commission for Subsurface Resources Use and Licensing Management. The Company's structural units and subsidiaries constantly monitor the fulfillment of license terms.

As a result of Gazprom's license policy pursued between 2010 and 2013, 41 licenses were obtained, C1 commercial reserves were increased by over 1.9 billion tons of fuel equivalent. 131 supplements to licenses were issued, which made it possible to eliminate the risks of hydrocarbon reserve losses.

Great attention is paid to fulfilling the license conditions concerning geological exploration activities, which are often complicated by deficient regional infrastructure and harsh natural & climatic conditions. However, for nine years in a row already the Company has managed to secure the growth of natural gas reserves exceeding the production. In particular, in 2013 geological exploration resulted in Gazprom Group's A+B+C1 reserves buildup of 646.9 billion cubic meters of gas, production being 487.4 billion cubic meters; reserve replenishment ratio – 1.3.

The Management Committee was tasked to proceed with improving the Company's activities for subsurface use aimed at mineral resource base replenishment and hydrocarbon reserves treatment. In addition, the task was assigned to continue updating regulatory acts concerning subsurface use activities.