" Day". Belkamneft Goes Ahead of Plan
During the first six months of the current year the production volume of Belkamneft OAO (Izhevsk, Udmurtiya) reached 1.770 million tons which is 6% more than set by the plan. The current production volume of RussNeft is 14.5 million tons of crude oil per year, which allows the Holding to go up in the rating of the 10 leading oil companies of Russia.
The last year record bounce in the production (25%) of Belkamneft OAO has turned into continuous growth in 2005. In spite of the fact that significant means have been diverted to acquiring new extractions assets (UNNK OAO), Belkamneft are expanding introduction of new technologies. This year they have done much more work on seams hydro fracturing as compared with the last year, and currently they are completing preparatory work for drilling horizontal wells.
Although this year they have reduced their drilling from 60 (2004) to 20 oil wells, it will not prevent them the Company bringing the yearly production volume up to 3.3 million tons of crude oil.
Among large-scale projects of Belkamneft in 2005 is an underwater pipeline via Kama River. The pipeline will connect the extractive capacities of Karakulinsky Region with crude oil treatment facilities named Ashit in Bashkiriya. This autumn Belkamneft may participate in Karsovaiskoye oilfield tender, the extractable reserves being estimated as 20 million tons. Inauguration of St. Regal Martyrs Church in Izhevsk on the 17th of July will become the biggest project in the framework of social programs financed by the Company. The Church was built within a short period of time, only 6 months. In July Belkamneft gained one more victory, at the political front this time. The representatives of the Company won municipal elections in the Town of Neftekamsk (Bashkiriya). Presently Belkamneft is one of the 28 enterprises belonging to RussNeft OAO, headed by Mikhail Gutseriev. During the current year there were many important events in the life of the Holding Company. In March RussNeft acquired another piece of property, chain petrol stations in Moscow and Moscow Oblast. In April the Company participated in a difficult competitive struggle in KhMAO and won a tender on developing a big oilfield (37 million tons of recoverable reserves) named Salymsky-1, having paid 1 billion rubles for it. And finally in June RussNeft started up a five- million-capacity oil loading terminal in Bryansk Region. The availability of the terminal will allow the Company to significantly increase export possibilities. By the end of 2005 RussNeft production volume will range from 16 to 20 million tons, which makes it appropriate for the Company to think of acquiring its own refinery and transforming RussNeft into a vertically-integrated company with a closed technological cycle.