An official ceremony was held on August 21 in Turukhansky District (Krasnoyarsk Territory) to mark the launch of commercial production at the Vankor oil and gas field. Launch of Vankor represents the first step in implementation of Rosneft plans for development of the East-Siberian oil and gas province.

The launch ceremony was attended by the Prime Minister of Russia, Vladimir Putin, the Authorized Representative of the President of Russia in Siberian Federal District, Anatoly Kvashnin, Minister of Energy of Russia, Sergey Shmatko, the Governor of Krasnoyarsk Territory, Aleksandr Khloponin, the President of Rosneft, Sergey Bogdanchikov, as well as representatives of the Russian ministries, Rosneft subsidiaries and partners.

The delegation, headed by the Russian Prime Minister, inspected industrial facilities at the field before the ceremony. During the inspection Sergey Bogdanchikov gave an account of main indicators of the Vankor project and further plans for its implementation.

Vankor is an integral development project for East Siberia and the Far East. Oil from the field will be the main input to the East Siberia – Pacific Ocean pipeline and the primary feedstock for unique petrochemical complex planned for construction in the Russian Far East.

Development of the field, which currently has estimated recoverable reserves of 520 mln tonnes (3.8 bln barrels) of oil and 95 bln cubic meters of gas, is being carried out by a Rosneft subsidiary, Vankorneft. Daily oil production at the field is currently 18,000 tonnes (130,000 bpd) and will increase to 30,000 tonnes (220,000 bpd) by the end of the year. Total production in 2009 is expected to reach 3 mln tonnes (22 mln barrels). Annual peak production is estimated at 25.5 mln tonnes (510,000 bpd) of oil. Crude oil produced at the field is transported via the 556-kilometer Vankor – Purpe oil pipeline in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District, connecting to the Transneft pipeline system.

Development of Vankor is one of the largest industrial projects in Russia. A total of 1,685 infrastructure facilities had been installed by the time of field launch. Facilities include a unique oil treatment line, with 7 million tonnes annual capacity, a 200-megawatt gas turbine power station, and reservoirs to hold 140,000 cubic meters of crude oil.

Implementation of the Vankor project has fundamental importance both for development of the oil and gas industry and of the Russian economy at large. More than 80% of equipment bought for the project was made in Russia. More than 450 contractors and sub-contractors have been brought in to work on the project, and 12,000 construction workers and 2,000 vehicles were employed at the peak of construction work. Overall tax payments during project lifetime will amount to 4.5 trillion roubles at an oil price of USD 60 per barrel.

The development licence for the Vankor field was obtained by Rosneft in 2003 as the result of a public bid on the London Stock Exchange to buy shares of an Anglo-Siberian Oil Company. It was the first such deal by a Russian company.