RussNeft is One of the Three Leaders in Oil Production Development

On the eve of the New Year the editorial staff of Oil&Gas Vertical Journal made a rating review on the 2004 business results, summarizing the opinions of 53 leading experts in oil and gas industry. 
The 2004 business activity rating of Russia’s oil and gas companies showed as follows:
1. Gazprom – 123 points
2. Lukoil – 71
3. TNK-BP – 40
4. RussNeft – 19
5-6. Novatech - 18
5-6. Yukos – 18
7. Rosneft – 14
8. Surgutneftegaz – 11
9. Sakhalin Energy – 7
10. Sibneft – 3
There are quite a lot of objective criteria which can be used for comparative assessment of the companies’ activity. One can, for example, compare the dynamics of oil or gas production in the companies. In the first case Slavneft, RussNeft and TNK-BP will be the first three leaders. In the second one Rosneft, TNK-BP and Slavneft will take the lead. One can also compare the dynamics or level of capitalization of the companies. In the latter case Gazprom, Surgutneftegaz and Lukoil will turn out to be the first three.
Financial efficiency can also be considered along with many other things. To do this there is no need to convene a big expert meeting at all, comparing accounting figures will just do. As for us we only wanted to find out which companies appealed most of all to the professional audience.
One could have noticed that within the year the rating of preferences underwent significant changes, which is quite natural as is associated with big changes in the industry. Gazprom and Lukoil have got far ahead of the other companies, and TNK-BP has climbed down a little.
It was a favorable year for the small-scale business. As a result among the five most active companies there have appeared RussNeft and Novatech. 
Yukos was balancing on the verge of surviving. However experts appreciate the fortitude and professionalism of the company’s managerial team. As for Sibneft, in the opinion of the experts, the company has not proved equal to the challenges it faced. Surgutneftegaz was as before prone to keep in the background. Judging by the results of the poll, the company proved equal to this task.
It is nice to see that among the rating leaders there has appeared Sakhalin Energy, an operator of a whole series of pioneering initiatives such as product sharing agreement, or PSA, and LNG facility.