Lukoil Reduces Oil Production by 2.6 Percent in 2024
According to its annual report, Russian oil company Lukoil reduced its oil and condensate production in 2024 by 2.6 percent, excluding the West Qurna-2 project, to 80.4 million metric tons.
Production within the Russian Federation also declined by 2.6 percent, totaling 76.5 million metric tons, which accounted for approximately 15 percent of the country’s total oil production. The company’s production was geographically distributed as follows: 42 percent in Western Siberia, 20 percent in the Timan-Pechora region, 19 percent in the Pre-Urals region, and 5 percent in international projects.
“The dynamics of Lukoil’s production in Russia and at certain international projects were influenced by the parameters of the OPEC+ agreement, as well as additional commitments to reduce oil output made by some OPEC+ member countries in 2023 and 2024,” the company stated.
Expansion of Priority Projects
Despite the overall decrease, Lukoil launched production at a new field in Western Siberia in 2024 and continued to expand priority development projects, including those in low-permeability reservoirs and at license blocks operating under the excess profit tax regime.
Production at international projects, excluding West Qurna-2, decreased by 2.7 percent to 3.9 million metric tons, mainly due to maintenance activities in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.
Natural Gas Production
Lukoil produced 34.3 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2024, down 2.3 percent from the previous year. Gas output in Russia remained stable at 18.1 billion cubic meters, while production at international projects fell by 4.5 percent to 16.2 billion cubic meters.
In total, Lukoil’s hydrocarbon production in 2024 reached 2.2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, with 75 percent in liquid hydrocarbons and 25 percent in natural and associated gas.
Crude Oil Sales and Exports
Lukoil increased crude oil sales by 17.1 percent in 2024 to 60.5 million metric tons, and exports by 4 percent to 36.7 million metric tons.
“The increased sales volumes were driven by reduced internal crude processing volumes at the company’s refineries. International markets accounted for 98.5 percent of total crude sales,” the report stated.
Sales in the domestic market dropped by 27.6 percent to 0.9 million metric tons, compared to 1.2 million metric tons in 2023. In contrast, foreign sales rose by 18.2 percent to 59.6 million metric tons, driven by higher trading activity.
Crude oil deliveries to Lukoil’s Russian refineries totaled 40.8 million metric tons, down 7.7 percent. Deliveries to European refineries dropped by 21.3 percent to 12.2 million metric tons, primarily due to the sale of the ISAB refinery in Italy.
The total sales volume of crude oil, petroleum products, gas products, and petrochemicals grew by 2 percent in 2024 to 131.2 million metric tons.
Gas Sales
Natural gas sales amounted to 25 billion cubic meters, a 3 percent decrease from 2023. Sales in Russia dropped by 1.7 percent to 9.7 billion cubic meters, while foreign sales fell by 4.1 percent to 15.3 billion cubic meters.
Petroleum Product Exports and Processing
Lukoil reduced exports of petroleum products by 17.4 percent in 2024 to 14.7 million metric tons, citing maintenance activities at refineries and increased domestic sales. Total production of petroleum products declined by 10.5 percent to 54.3 million metric tons, down from 60.7 million metric tons in 2023.
Total sales of petroleum and gas products dropped by 8.1 percent to 69.5 million metric tons. According to the company, the decline was mainly due to refinery maintenance in Russia and the sale of the ISAB refinery. Approximately 39 percent of total petroleum product sales — 26.9 million metric tons — were made in Russia, an increase of 5.7 percent, despite the repairs.
“In 2024, Lukoil implemented a set of measures to ensure the uninterrupted supply of petroleum products to the domestic market. These included optimizing sales operations and logistics. As a result, wholesale sales in Russia increased by 7 percent, and retail sales grew by 4.2 percent, reaching a historic high,” the report noted.
The share of petroleum products sold internationally was 61 percent, compared to 66 percent in 2023.
Refining Overview
Crude processing at Russian refineries totaled 40.8 million metric tons in 2024. The yield of light productsdecreased to 71.3 percent from 73 percent due to maintenance at the Volgograd and Nizhny Novgorod refineries. However, the refining depth (excluding mini-refineries) improved to 91.1 percent, up from 90.6 percent in 2023, due to reduced fuel oil output.
Processing volumes at European refineries declined by 18 percent to 13.5 million metric tons, following the May 2023 sale of ISAB in Italy. On a comparable basis, processing volumes increased by 4.7 percent, driven by maintenance-related downtime in 2023 and increased capacity utilization due to changes in the feedstock mix.
Lukoil’s refining portfolio includes four refineries in Russia (located in Perm, Volgograd, Nizhny Novgorod, and Ukhta) and two in Europe (in Romania and Bulgaria), along with a 45 percent stake in a refinery in the Netherlands. The total refining capacity is 65 million metric tons per year, excluding mini-refineries. In 2024, 66 percent of Lukoil’s crude oil production was refined within the group.
