OREANDA-NEWS. The Board of Directors of Gazprom Neft has reviewed implementation of the programme aimed at improving its associated petroleum gas (APG) utilisation programme. Gazprom Neft is one of Russia's leading companies in Russia in terms of greater APG utilization, with usage rates increasing by a half over the past four years - and this despite a significant growth in the volumes of APG produced, from 4.4 to 6.8 billion cubic metres, during the same period. This has been achieved as a result of several major investment programmes in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug, the Tomsk Oblast and the Noyabrsk Region. By end-2014 productive use of APG at Gazprom Neft will reach 81 percent, matching the industry average. On the basis of 2014 year-end results, total investment in infrastructure for APG utilisation will have reached RUB5.4 billion.

Gazprom Neft is set to continue improving performance indicators on the productive use of APG. In particular, the company is building a new gas processing plant as part of the Southern Priobskoye compressor station, as well as new compressor station at the Eti-Purovsk field (Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Region), the launch of which is planned for 2016, and which will, in turn, facilitate a range of projects in the Tomsk and Orenburg Oblasts. Consequently, attention will turn to focus on the utilisation of APG from new major fields currently undergoing preparation for substantial development - specifically, the Novoportovskoye and Messoyakha projects in the north of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug, as well as a range of others.

The Board of Directors also took under consideration information on the company's current strategy for the sale of gas produced by Gazprom Neft enterprises. APG currently comprises around 40 percent of all gas produced (approximately seven billion cubic metres), with a further 10 billion cubic metres attributed to natural gas. Sales volumes of natural gas produced by Gazprom Neft subsidiaries in the company's traditional areas of activity are scheduled to increase from 6.7 to 7.7 billion cubic metres by 2017. The company's gas sales are effected through agreements with JSC Gazprom and Gazprom Mezhregiongaz LLC. In addition to this, the commissioning of new capacity is expected to result in a consistent increase in gas volumes produced by the company's joint ventures, SeverEnergia and NortGaz.