April 2005

20.04.2005
RussNeft and Administration of Ulyanovsk Region to Have Concluded Cooperation Agreement.
RussNeft and the administration of the Ulyanovsk region have concluded a cooperation agreement, as the oil information agency came to know from the public relations service of the company.

The agreement was signed by President of RussNeft Mikhail Gutseriev and Governor of the Ulyanovsk oblast Sergey Morozov. “The document specifies priority trends in the interrelation between the parties aimed at stable development of the region’s economy, improvement of investment climate, insurance of favorable conditions for tackling social issues,” RussNeft clarified. As the oil information agency was told by a source at RussNeft, the conclusion of the agreement shows that the company is ready to do large-scale industrial and social projects in the region.
RussNeft is said to plan expansion of its activities in the region via the resource bases of SP Nafta-Ulyanovsk ZAO, Ulyanovskneft OAO and Nefterazvedka OAO which are under its control.
It is in the plans of the company to do the design work for construction of oil pipelines, transfer stations and a central point of gathering and delivering oil to Transneft system (РТС:  TRNFP), as well as to vastly enhance drilling operation, hydro-fracturing and pilot testing to assess efficiency of advanced technologies used on a large-scale basis, to increase oil output and improve reservoir oil recovery. The company also plans to fully develop the Cherdaklinsky area and to do first-stage exploration in the Novospassky and Radischevsky districts. RussNeft’s entities operate in six areas of the Ulyanovsk oblast; they are Nickolayevsky, Novospassky, Melekessky, Cherdaklinsky, Novomalyklinsky and Radischevsky districts. In 2004 they yielded 600 thousand tons of crude oil. In 2005 the oil output is planned to be increased up to 800 thousand tons and in 2006 up to 1.1 million tons. RussNeft consolidates 25 producing, 1 refining and 2 transport companies, as well as a retail network of petrol stations found in 13 regions of Russia and CIS. Total recoverable reserves of Russneft exceed 600 million tons.
The 2004 total oil output reached 10 million tons of crude oil.

Source: "Interfax"