RussNeft to Become an International Company Producing 60-80 Million Tons per Year Within 10 Years.

NK RussNeft OAO intends to become an international company within 10 year with extraction volumes ranging from 60 to 80 thousand tons of crude oil per year. It was announced by RussNeft President Mikhail Gutseriev at the press conference in the town of Zhecha in the Bryansk region. He also said that about 30 million tons in the total volume of the Company’s yearly production would be delivered to the home market according to the plan, and the remaining volumes would be exported. M.Gutseriev informed that the Company was discussing its participation in oil projects in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and a number of far away countries, specifically in Angola. He also noted that RussNeft was waiting for the Americans to leave Iraq in order to consider the possibility of doing some projects there. The head of RussNeft said that the Company planned to do initial public offering in view of the intention to enter the international market. He didn't specify any details concerning the IPO, having remarked that a lot would depend on the progress of the Company. M.Gutseriev also emphasized that the shareholders of RussNeft had proposals from other companies wishing to buy RussNeft. Such proposals came from China as well. However the owners of the Company turned them down. According to the head of RussNeft, the Company won’t pay dividends to its shareholders in the nearest future as the money earned by the Company is spent on its development.
NK RussNeft is one of the ten biggest Russian oil and gas companies. In its structure there are producing, refining and transport companies, chain petrol stations located in 13 regions of Russia and CIS. The geography of RussNeft activities includes Western Siberia, Tomsk, Novosibirsk, Ulyanovsk, Penza, Samara, Bryansk, Leningrad and Krasnodar regions, the Repubics of Udmurtiya, Komi and Byelorussia. Total recoverable reserves of Russneft exceed 600 million tons. Its yearly production volume comes to 11.5 million tons. RussNeft having 100 million rubles charter fund was registered on the 18th of September 2002. The Company has 7 shareholders and is planning to come into possession of a refinery in the coming two years.