The Gazprom Board of Directors adopted the updated Program for hydrocarbon resources development on the Russian Federation shelf until 2030.

The Company's Management Committee was tasked to continue the activity on the Russian continental shelf development and render a performance report for the Board of Directors in late 2012.

Background

The initial aggregate hydrocarbon resources of Russia's continental shelf average 100 billion tons of fuel equivalent, of which some 80 per cent is gas. The bulk of the hydrocarbon resources (over 80 per cent) are concentrated in the Barents, Pechora, Kara Seas and the Sea of Okhotsk, with gas and condensate prevailing in the Barents and Kara Seas, oil – in the Pechora Sea, oil and gas – in the Sea of Okhotsk.

The Program for hydrocarbon resources development on the Russian Federation shelf until 2030 is a strategic document determining the directions for the Gazprom activity expansion on the Russian shelf. The Program envisages a comprehensive approach enabling to make best use of equipment and infrastructure in offshore projects.

In particular, it is projected to carry out comprehensive development of the Shtokman field and its satellites in the Barents Sea as well as to jointly develop the Prirazlomnoye and Dolginskoye oil fields in the Pechora Sea. Operations in the Severo-Kamennomysskoye and Kamennomysskoye-Sea fields offshore the Ob and Taz Bays will lay the foundation for developing a field cluster. The Sakhalin shelf will see comprehensive development of fields located within Gazprom's licensed areas (Sakhalin III project).

Moreover, the Program envisages utilization of cutting-edge and cost effective engineering facilities and technologies for field development in severe natural and climatic conditions.

By 2030 it is expected to replenish Gazprom's reserves with more than 11 billion tons of fuel equivalent through geological exploration of the Russian shelf (between 2005 and 2010 augmentation of the Company's offshore reserves surpassed 2 billion tons of fuel equivalent).

The Program implementation will enable Gazprom to annually produce over 200 billion cubic meters of gas (without regard to gas from Sakhalin II) and some 10 million tons of oil on the Russian shelf by 2030.