Gas & Oil Production

Strategy

By 2010 gas production by Gazprom will account for no less than 570 bcm to reach 610–615 bcm by 2015 and 650–670 bcm in 2020. This is a fundamentally higher level than provided for in Russia's Energy Strategy adopted several years ago.

Period before 2010

The gas production level will be maintained by bringing onstream capacities at the existing and new fields and sites in the Nadym-Pur-Taz region: Lower Cretaceous deposits of the Zapolyarnoye and Pestsovoye fields, Achimov formations of the Urengoy field, Apt-Albian and Lower Cretaceous deposits of the Nyda area in the Medvezhye field, Cenomanian deposits of the Zapadno-Pestsovoye field, as well as by bringing to full capacity the Kharvutinskaya area of the Yamburg field and the Yuzhno-Russkoye field.

The economic expediency of developing the said fields and sites is driven by their vicinity to well-developed gas production and gas transportation infrastructure.

Period after 2010

New strategic gas production areas are planned for development on the Yamal Peninsula, the Barents Sea offshore, the Ob and Taz Bays, Eastern Siberia and the Far East.

Coalbed methane

Production of coalbed methane is destined to become one of the key directions for the Gazprom resource base expansion strategy. The provisional estimates indicate up to 20 bcmpa of forecast production volumes after 2020 in the Kuzbass basin – the world's largest coalbed methane basin.

The oil business development strategy stipulates an increase in the annual oil production up to 90–100 mln t by 2020.

The plan for reaching the 2020 production level implies a stagewise involvement of all the explored fields of Gazprom neft (inclusive of the Company's 50 per cent shareholdings in the NGK Slavneft and Tomskneft) in the production process, expansion of the resource base through commissioning oil fields assigned to other companies of the Group, as well as acquisition of new licenses.

Gas and liquid hydrocarbons production

Gazprom's accounts for 84 per cent of Russia's total gas production and more than 17 per cent of the worldwide natural gas output.

In 2007 Gazprom produced 548.6 bcm of gas (in 2006 – 556.0 bcm). The affiliated companies' input into the total share of production by Gazprom Group made up 3.2 bcm of gas.

The decrease in gas production by 1.3 per cent in 2007 compared to 2006 was conditioned by the decrease in gas consumption on the domestic market and lower volumes of Russian gas exports to European countries due to the anomalously warm winter of 2006–2007.

As a result of the demand recession during the withdrawal season of 2006–2007 a total of 15.2 bcm of gas was not withdrawn from the UGS facilities. In the absence of available UGS capacities Gazprom's gas production was limited during the summer period.

In 2007 gas condensate production totaled 11.3 mln t, oil production – 34.0 mlnt (including 32.7 mln t by Gazprom neft), which is consistent with the liquid hydrocarbon production level in 2006. Liquid hydrocarbon production by the associated companies in Gazprom Group's share amounted to 0.3 mln t of gas condensate and 11.3 mln t of oil in 2007.