the RUSSIA oil & gas competitive intelligence report - Report Buyer

Russia Oil and Gas Competitive Intelligence Report 2010
Latest Developments
Gazprom Neft was awarded rights to develop the Novoportovskoye and Orenburgskoye East oil fields
from parent Gazprom in December 2009. Novoportovskoye and Orenburgskoye East fields hold around
1.7bn and 700mn bbl of oil reserves respectively.
In December 2009, Gazprom Neft signed a deal to acquire Sweden-based Malka Oil’s subsidiary STS-
Service for US$118mn. STS has three licences in the Tomsk region with combined oil and condensate
reserves of 189mn bbl (C1+C2). The deal has yet to be approved by Malka’s shareholders.
Gazprom Neft gained majority ownership of mid-sized domestic producer Sibir Energy in June 2009 after
acquiring 50% of investment company Bennfield. Having bought the assets of Bennfield's joint owner
Igor Kesaev, Gazprom Neft acquired indirect ownership of 23.35% of Sibir's shares, bringing its total
stake in the AIM-listed firm to at least 54.7% (following a series of opaque deals with various previous
shareholders, 2.3% of Sibir’s shares are unaccounted for). Gazprom Neft consolidated Sibir into its
financial accounts and manages the company in partnership with the Moscow city council (19.3%). In late
September 2009, Gazprom Neft petitioned the Russian competition authorities to acquire 100% of Sibir,
adding that it expects an answer soon. Whether it was able to come to an agreement with the remaining
shareholders, particularly the Moscow council, which in mid-2009 indicated its intention to raise its Sibir
stake, remains unclear.
Since having trumped a rival bid from TNK-BP in late April 2009, Gazprom Neft has bought out Sibir’s
floating shares and some of its major investors, spending a combined US$1.67bn on the deals. The
ownership of the other 50% of Bennfield (and therefore 23.3% of Sibir) remains disputed by its owners.
The outstanding Bennfield shares are currently held as collateral by state-owned Sberbank, pending
payment of its outstanding debts.
Gazprom Neft’s deputy director, Boris Zilbermints, said in December 2008 that the company may be
looking for foreign partners to develop the Prirazlomnoye oil field in the Barents Sea. Gazprom’s
subsidiary Sevmorneftegaz previously reneged on its intentions to bring in foreign participants and stated
plans to develop the field on its own. Gazprom is currently constructing an offshore production platform
at Prirazlomnoye, which is expected to be completed by late-2010 or early-2011. Gazprom plans to hand
over the field, along with a number of other licences, to Gazprom Neft in 2009/10. Prirazlomnoye, which
holds estimated oil reserves of 600mn bbl, is expected to produce 120,500b/d.
In December 2008, CEO Alexander Dyukov has also made an offer to Chevron to develop more fields in
western Siberia. Gazprom Neft and Chevron formed a JV in 2007, Northern Taiga Neftegaz, to explore
for and develop assets in the Yamal-Nenets region.
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