Latest Oil and Gas News Russia

Shell discusses further cooperation with Gazprom
Supermajor Shell will discuss further cooperation with Russian state-run Gazprom on energy projects in Russia's Far East, its was announced recently, reflecting industry hopes that lower oil prices will prompt countries with resources to offer better deals.

Anglo-Dutch Shell boss Jeroen van der Veer told Reuters in an interview the company would discuss more projects with the Russian gas giant after launching the $22 billion Sakhalin-2 liquefied natural gas project.

Van der Veer said the Russian Far East was within Shell and Gazprom's "area of mutual interests (AMI)".

"Based on the success (of Sakhalin-2), the partners will discuss with each other how we can give hands and feet to this AMI," the executive said.

SIIRTEC NIGI AWARDED THE GAS TREATING PLANT
Siirtec Nigi S.p.A. has announced that it has been awarded a contract by OAO Gazprom to implement the biggest silica gel plant in the world to be located at
the Portovaya Compression Station near the Russian town of Vyborg. Contract value is in the region of 400 million Euros. The contract is part of the ambitious Nord Stream Project which includes the 1,220 km gas pipeline that will carry natural gas from Russia to the European Union via the Baltic Sea. The award follows highly competitive international tender over several months.

The plant will dehydrate and control the hydrocarbon dew point of 170 million cubic meter per day (6 billion cubic feet per day) of natural gas to reach the stringent specifications required by the submarine pipeline. The plant, operating at 75 bar (1088 psi), will use high performance e silica gel manufactured by BASF.
Siirtec Nigi's scope of work includes the supply of technology, engineering and procurement of equipment and materials to be delivered in two phases (October 2010 and October 2011). In addition, the company will be responsible for erection supervision and start-up activities.


Kremlin unveils 126m barrel oil stash plan
Russia is working toward creating an oil and products reserve and could stockpile up to 16 million tonnes (126.4 million barrels) to take advantage of low oil prices, Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin recently told reporters today.

"We are getting ready for an Opec session, which will take place in March, and we are studying reserve options," Reuters quoted Sechin as saying.

He added low oil prices were prompting producers to think about reducing output.
"Such a reduction could reach up to 16 million tonnes, depending on market conditions. It is possible to study the possibility of buying this crude from the market," he said.

"You will agree that, at such prices, it is wise to talk about stockpiling options.

Slavneft ties up $100m loan
Russian gas giant Gazprom's banking arm Gazprombank has handed oil producer Slavneft a two-and-a-half-year $100 million loan to help it fund ongoing activities.
Slavneft is a joint venture between Gazprom Neft, Gazprom's oil arm, and TNK-BP, half-owned by UK supermajor BP.

Russia in Bolivia pipe talks
Russian gas giant Gazprom is in talks to build a system of pipelines in Bolivia, President Dmitry Medvedev said as the Kremlin launches a new push to boost its influence in South America.

Medvedev announced the plan after talks in the Kremlin with Bolivian President Evo Morales, whose visit to Moscow comes soon after similar trips by fellow leftist leaders Raul Castro of Cuba and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela.

"We spoke about Russia helping our friends in Bolivia with hydrocarbons and the construction of a gas transport system," Medvedev told Reuters after the meeting.
"A memorandum was signed with Gazprom, whose co-operation is moving into the practical sphere," he said, adding that work on the "strategic project" would run to 2030.

Medvedev said Russian efforts to boost ties with South America were not aimed at countering the US, traditionally the dominant power in the region.

Russia seals $25bn China cash for oil deal
China has agreed to lend Russian oil companies $25 billion in return for supplies from huge new East Siberian oilfields that will power its economy for the next two decades, a source close to the talks said today.

Russia's state oil champion Rosneft and pipeline monopoly Transneft signed a long-delayed deal to borrow the money from China Development Bank during talks in China, the source told Reuters. Rosneft and Transneft declined immediate comment.

Beijing has abundant cash that Moscow needs to access in the credit crunch as its government is running major deficits and some of its companies are finding it difficult to repay loans and borrow project finance on commercial markets.
The agreement, originally planned for the end of 2008, did not come easily and talks stalled in November last year over disagreements about interest rates and state guarantees China sought from the Russian government.

TNK-BP turns on Uvat taps
TNK-BP turned on the taps at the Urna and Ust-Tegus fields, in the Uvat area of West Siberia's Tyumen oil patch, and pledged to invest $500 million this year to increase output in a region where most other major deposits have been depleted.
TNK-BP plans to produce 1.5 million tonnes (11.8 million barrels) of oil from the Urna and Ust-Tegus fields this year.

Output will be ramped up to a peak of 9 million tonnes per year (71 million barrels) by 2020, officials said.

TNK-BP holds 15 licences in the region, with the Urna and Ust-Tegus fields lying in the eastern sector of the province. Crude from the two licence areas was fed into the 264-kilometre spur that links up with the national pipeline network run by Transneft . TNK-BP, has invested $925 million in the project to date, which it completed ahead of the original start-up date of 1 April.

The company last year launched another major project, the Verkhnechonskoye field in East Siberia.

EU united on Nord Stream and Nabucco
The European Union (EU) is united on the natural gas pipelines its members aim to build in a bid to diversify block's supply and import routes, Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs recently said.

Piebalgs spoke of unity after German Chancellor Angela Merkel asked the 27-member block to support a Nord Stream pipeline, which would bring Russian natural gas under the Baltic Sea directly to Germany. Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, whose country chairs the EU until June 30, said that Nord Stream, as a pipeline deepening the EU's reliance on Russian gas, was "a direct threat to the Nabucco project" that would skip Russia as a supplier.

Poland and the Baltic states have been the chief opponents of the Nord Stream pipeline, which bypasses them. Piebalgs said that while Poland would prefer other routes Warsaw was "not hostile" to the Russian-German line.

Gazprom plans to raise shelf oil and gas reserves by 2020
Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom said its hydrocarbon reserves on Russia's Arctic Shelf will increase by 5.6 bn tons of fuel equivalent between this year and 2020.

Gazprom said Russia currently had around 100 bn tons of fuel equivalent on the enormous shelf, which covers many time zones and is partly frozen. Around 80 % of these are gas.

"In 2005-2008, Gazprom's reserves on the Russian shelf grew by 1.5 bn tons of fuel equivalent as a result of geological exploration work," Gazprom said.
Last year, total hydrocarbon reserves held by Gazprom, the world's largest gas producer and supplier of a quarter of Europe's gas, rose by a record 10 % after the government granted it 10 major gas deposits and its oil reserves were boosted.

Sakhalin 3 Operator Selected After Prospecting
The operator of the Sakhalin-3 project will be determined as soon as geological prospecting is over, Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin reported. Asked about the chances of the two major rivals - Gazprom and Rosneft - Sechin noted that the most active bidder would win, adding that if the bulk of the project's reserve is gas, Gazprom would certainly be more willing than Rosneft. However, it is still too early to draw any conclusions, Sechin observed. He pointed out the difficult economic situation, which discouraged interest in large projects

New Energy Source Comes Onstream at Sakhalin II
President Dmitry Medvedev opened Russia's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant built by Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Limited (Sakhalin Energy).

The LNG plant is the heart of the Sakhalin II Project, one of the largest integrated oil and gas projects in the world.

The innovative and challenging Sakhalin II construction is near completion, and a new major energy source is now coming onstream. The infrastructure includes three offshore platforms, an onshore processing facility, 300 km of offshore pipelines and 1600 kms of onshore pipelines, an oil export facility and the LNG plant.


Rosneft Reviews 2008 Results and Approves 2009 Business Plan
According to the preliminary results, in 2008, Rosneft's oil and gas condensate production amounted to 110.1 mln tonnes, 9% more compared to the prior year. Organic production growth exceeded 4%, which is the best indicator among the Company's peers. This growth is primarily explained by further development of Rosneft’s extensive reserve base that was underpinned by increased production drilling at the Company’s core upstream enterprises. In 2008, Rosneft drilled 2,547 th. meters of production wells (up 6.3% compared to 2007) and commissioned 658 new wells. Marketable gas output totaled 11.2 bcm, an increase of 1% compared to 2007. Furthermore, Rosneft completed 58.7 th. meters of exploration wells, which enabled the Company to add 141 mln tonnes of oil and 36 bcm of gas of the Russian ABC1 category, thus fully replacing volumes produced in 2008.

Rosneft Approves 2009 Business Plan
At Rosneft's recent meeting, the Board of Directors also approved Rosneft's business plan for 2009 that envisages further growth in all operating indicators amid unfavorable macroeconomic environment.

In particular, in 2009, Rosneft plans to increase its oil and gas condensate output by 2% to 112.3 mln tonnes, primarily through accelerated production drilling (704 new wells) and the launch of the Vankor oil and gas field. Commissioning of a booster station at the Priobskoye field is expected to bring marketable gas production to 11.9 bcm, 5.8% more as compared to 2007.

To ensure continued reserve base expansion, in 2009, the amount of exploration work will be maintained at the 2008 level. Rosneft plans to complete 56.3 th. meters of exploration drilling, and to shoot 9.1 th. linear kilometers and 2.4 th. square kilometers of 2D and 3D seismic, respectively.

StatoilHydro Investing in Arctic Russia's Future
Russian and Norwegian dignitaries, students and journalists turned out last week for education grant awards and cooperation signing ceremonies between StatoilHydro and schools in Murmansk and Arkhangelsk.

"This is a very important occasion for north-west Russia and StatoilHydro. We're signing agreements to train local students for opportunities in the region's emerging oil and gas industry," said signatory Bengt-Lie Hansen, StatoilHydro president Russia.

Mutual benefit
"These programs are not only important for north-west Russia and the schools, but for StatoilHydro's efforts to be an Arctic champion!" said Mr Lie Hansen.

"A cooperation between people means that you believe in an idea. We believe in you and I hope you believe in us. Together, we can make a difference."

Aladdin Oil & Gas Reports Possible Oil Discovery in Orenburg
Aladdin Oil & Gas Company ASA has during the drilling of an exploration well (*101) revealed a petroleum system in a reef structure. A 6m column has been encountered with clear indications of hydrocarbons.

Aladdin Oil & Gas Company ASA acquired 3D seismic on the Bogdanovskaya license early last year, and during the interpretation a possible reef structure was identified. The company decided that it wanted to drill this structure, and a well was spudded on it 24th December 2008. The well is planned to be drilled to 950m, and the top of the reef was expected around 650m depth.


The well will be drilled to the planned TD of 950m, and is currently at 698m depth. The company hopes to find further hydrocarbons as the drilling proceeds.
Analysis of the electric logs will decide what intervals can be tested, before any commerciality of the discovery can be considered.


CALEDUS BUCKS ECONOMIC DOWNTURN WITH FORECAST FOR MAJOR GROWTH
Caledus, the Aberdeen headquartered well construction technology oil and gas service sector business, has unveiled plans for significant global expansion with forecasts of 250 employees worldwide and turnover of £50 million by 2012.

A three-year vision, agreed by the company's senior management team at a meeting in Aberdeen recently, will see Caledus reach its anticipated expansion through organic growth, strategic acquisitions and alliances, incorporating new product lines where appropriate to enhance the business.

This year Caledus predicts revenue will grow from £8million to £14million with an increase in jobs globally from 43 to 65. Staff will increase at the company's key strategic bases in Aberdeen (6), Perth Australia (3), Dubai (3) and Houston (3) while a new office will be opened in Kuala Lumpur in March and additional staff will be employed in Norway and Angola.

Labels: Gazprom, news, oil gas, Rosneft, Russia, Sakhalin, Shell, Slavneft, TNK BP, Uvat

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