OREANDA-NEWS. Consolidated Rosneft gas production in the first quarter increased by 19.7% compared to the same period last year and amounted to 15.8 BCM. Thus, the Company is among the three largest producers of natural gas in Russia and continues to hold a leading position in terms of growth and efficiency of production.

The main growth drivers of the Company’s gas production are: increase of use of produced gas, an organic increase in production from existing production facilities, as well as commissioning of new fields, such as Northern Chayvo at the Sakhalin island and Khadyryakhinskoye in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District.

Rosneft consistently improves the utilization of associated petroleum gas, which reached 87% in the first quarter of 2015 compared with 81% in 2014. The strategic objective of the Company is to achieve an APG utilization level of 95%.

Improving the efficiency of the existing fields’ development, introduction of new production capacities and environmental responsibility are key Rosneft priorities, which allow the Company to rely on the continued sustainable development of the gas business and the achievement of the target production level of 100 BCM per year.