RussNeft to Invest One Billion Rubles Exploration at Tomsk Oblast.

In 2005 NK RussNeft OAO will invest one billion rubles in exploration of oilfields. As a Regnum correspondent informs, the statement was made by General Director of Russneft Mikhail Gutseriev after the cooperation agreement between RussNeft and the Tomsk region administration had been signed. “We are interested not only in the companies which we have bought, but also in the reserves over the right-bank area of the Ob,” said Mikhail Gutseriev. “Out of the one billion rubles a half will be invested in the Ob’s right bank area. We hope to find ‘big crude’ there. In the meantime we’ll set about selecting the staff and getting acquainted with the local management. RussNeft has come to the region for a long time”.
“NK RussNeft OAO has bought seven license plots in the Tomsk region. Each of these plots has several oilfields,” Regnum was told by General Vice-President of Sobolinoye ZAO Alexander Grot, an operating company to do all scope of works at the oilfields. “The license plots may potentially have unexplored reserves. In compliance with the license agreement Russneft is supposed to do exploration over the acquired license plots”.
In the end of 2004 RussNeft bought three license plots from Cyprus-registered Benodet Investments Ltd.; they are Somovsky (the Boltnoye oilfield), Soboliny (Guraringskoye and Yasnoye oilfields) and Yuzhno-Pudinsky plots (Yuzhno-Tabaganskoye, Solonovoye, Smolyanskoye, Kulguinskoye oilfields). RussNeft also acquired some oilfields from Tomskneftegazgeologia OAO with the same name on-site registered companies (Duplinskoye, Stolbovoye, Poselkovoye, Grushevoye, and Fedyushkinskoye LLCs).
The 2005 total oil output is expected to reach 700 thousand tons. The main and only operator of all the works to be done at the oilfields ranging from exploration to development is Sobolinoye ZAO.
“We are trying to buy assets all over the country,” pointed out Mikhail Gutseriev. “The goal of RussNeft is to bring the oil output to 15 million tons. We are creating a vertically integrated holding company with a full cycle including upstream, refining, export and retail sale”.
Mikhail Gutseriev said that RussNeft will attend to charity and sponsor projects in proportion to the oil production in the Tomsk region. “For instance we discussed with Victor Kress the matter of financing a football team named Tom,” pointed out RussNeft General Director.
To the question of the mass media as to how the young company was going to get on with Yukos, operating in the same area, Mikhail Gutseriev replied: “I have much respect for Mikhail Khodorkovsky and is of high opinion of his talent and Yukos. I will keep in touch with them, and will help them, though they are much bigger than me. But if I can help I will definitely do it”.
The 2004 oil output of Tomskneft OAO, an affiliate of Yukos in the Tomsk region, amounted to 13.57 million tons. The oil output of RussNeft in 2004 was 10 million tons.
RussNeft was registered on the 25th of December 2002. In December 2002 the company bought its first big stake in Varieganneft at Khanty-Mansiysk AO. In January 2004 were acquired Belkamneft (Udmurtia), Nedra (the Republic of Komi), Severnoyeneftegaz (the Novosibirsk oblast). The annual oil output of the holding company grew up to 5.8 million tons. In March 2004 Uralskaya Neft (Udmurtia) was bought. In April 2004 the company began to build in the Bryansk region an oil loading pipe rack of 5 million ton yearly capacity. August 2004 RussNeft acquired company Chernogorskoye in the Tyumen region. October 2004 Archneftegeologia in the Tyumen region was incorporated. Benodet investments Ltd. (Cyprus) became part of RussNeft in 2004.
The oilfields of Benodet Investments Ltd. in the Tomsk region formed part of Sobolinoye ZAO. Also in the end of 2004 NK RussNeft OAO bought a number of oilfields from Tomskneftegazgeologia OAO. 
According to Mikhail Gutseriev, RussNeft was established ‘without privatizing public property’. Its main oil producing areas are in Western Siberia and Udmurtia. By the middle of 2005 anticipated volume of oil production is 15 million tons owing to the acquisition of new companies and development of oilfields in Siberia. The funds turnover at RussNeft comes to $2 billion. The total number of its employees is 8866 people.