Rosneft Set to Increase Oil Output by Half

Russian state oil company Rosneft will increase output by a half by 2020 due to new assets and fields, according to its head as it aims to become the world’s top listed oil producer.
Sergei Bogdanchikov said Rosneft will produce 130 million tonnes of crude (2.6 million barrels per day) by 2010 and 170 million tonnes (3.4 million bpd) by 2020, up from the current 110 million tonnes.
“One quarter of our oil output will come from fields in East Siberia, mainly from the Krasnoyarsk region,” he said.  By comparison, oil major BP produces 2.3 million bpd and U.S. Exxon Mobil some 2.5 million bpd of liquids such as oil and gas condensate.
Rosneft has become Russia’s largest oil producer and refiner following last year’s state-forced auction of assets of bankrupt oil firm YUKOS. The company has promised to outline a long-term development strategy, but has repeatedly postponed its publication.
“We have already obtained permissions from the energy ministry, economy ministry, the academy of sciences. I don’t think it will take very long (strategy approval),” he added. Rosneft’s biggest field in East Siberia is Vankor, in which it will invest a total of 100 billion roubles ($4.06 billion) to produce 500,000 barrels per day sometime next decade.