Gazprom Neft assessed the consequences of the departure of foreign partners from Russia

KHANTY-MANSIYSK, 31 Aug — PRIME. Gazprom Neft has not stopped or postponed the implementation of a single hydrocarbon production project due to the departure of foreign partners from Russia, Vadim Yakovlev, the company’s deputy head, told reporters.

“At the moment, there is zero impact. And on the project portfolio too: we have not stopped a single project, we have not changed the deadlines for the implementation of a single project,” he said, answering a question about the impact of the exit of foreign partners from Gazprom Neft projects.

He also noted that the company intends to soon announce a new partnership on the Karabash project in Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug, from which the Spanish Repsol left earlier.

“For the asset from which Repsol came out, we can soon announce a new partnership. We are talking about Karabash,” he said, adding that the Karabash zone is no longer exploration, these are reserves prepared for development.

As for the Neptune and Triton fields on the Sakhalin shelf, the search for partners continues, Yakovlev explained.

The Kommersant newspaper, citing sources, reported at the end of 2021 that the Spanish Repsol intends to exit the mining business in Russia. At the beginning of 2022, Gazprom Neft bought out Repsol’s shares in two joint ventures, Evrotek-Yugra and ASB Geo, which own the Karabash blocks in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, consolidating 100% of the assets. The size and terms of the deal were not officially announced.

Yakovlev stressed that Gazprom Neft does not intend to withdraw from any of its foreign projects, answering in the negative to the question of whether the company plans to do so.

Gazprom Neft operates in Iraqi Kurdistan, where it participates in two projects – Shakal and Garmian, and in Iraq – at the Badra field. The company’s largest foreign asset is NIS (Oil Industry of Serbia), a joint project between Gazprom Neft and the Serbian government. The company also has several sales enterprises abroad.

In connection with Russia’s special operation in Ukraine, British Shell announced at the end of February that it would withdraw from joint ventures with Gazprom and Gazprom Neft, including Sakhalin-2, Yenisei and Salym Petroleum, and also cease participation in the Nord Stream 2 project. Later, the company also curtailed the activities of its gas stations in Russia and sold them to Lukoil.