• 2008 April 7

    Varandei-related plans of LUKOIL

    LUKOIL plans active development of oil product and crude export via its own facilities in the Kola Bay. In June the company will start oil shipment from its new terminal Varandei, the capacity of which is to reach 12 million tonnes per year. By 2010 LUKOIL plans to stop using the Belokamenka facility and to set its own floating storage facility. Besides, the company plans to build an 8 - mln tonne floating terminal in Murmansk region  for refining of Varandei crude.

    New terminal for new field

    On Friday, LUKOIL President Vagit Alekperov told about the company’s plans on export of oil from Varandei (its largest field in Timano-Pechersk province) being developed jointly with ConocoPhilips within the framework of their joint venture Naryanmarneftegaz. As of today, Timano-Pechersk accounts for 14.3% of the company’s output which corresponded to 13.6 million tonnes in 2006. Yuzhnoye Khylchuyu Field in Varandei (Nenets autonomous district) is to be put into operation in June of the current year. By 2010 the JV’s output is to reach 240 barrels per day in this region. Specially for this new field LUKOIL introduces new oil grade to be known as Arctic Light.

    LUKOIL will export the majority of its crude via its own terminal Varandei to the North American market. The new terminal is to comprise an on-shore tank farm (325,000 cubic meters), two 22-km off-shore pipelines and a permanent ice-class shipment mooring. The new terminal’s maximal throughput is to be 12 million tonnes when the field operates at its full capacity. Sovcomflot is to operate the terminal as it won the tender announced last year.

    LUKOIL’s own tanker

    According to Reuters, from 2 to 3 million tonnes of oil will be exported via the Belokamenka terminal in 2008. Additional 250,000-300,000 tonnes will be exported via Belokamenka from the Gulf of Ob. The Belokamenka Terminal is a storage tanker chartered owned by Rosneft and placed at the anchorage in the Kola Bay. All crude produced at Timano-Pechora field is exported via this terminal. In 2007, Belokamenka exported 830,000 tonnes of crude produced by LUKOIL. According to Vagit Alekperov, by 2010 the company is to stop using the Belokamenka facility and to set its own floating storage facility at the port of Murmansk.

    As of today, shipment of crude is carried out via a small terminal owned by Murmansk shipping company capable of handling 1.5 million tonnes. In 2007, it handled 576,000 tonnes (+15%, year-on-year).

    Oil products wait for legislation

    Besides export of crude from Varandei, LUKOIL considers its distillation and export of oil products. I particular, it is eyeing the construction of a 4-8 million tonne refinery and an on-shore terminal in Murmansk region. Theproject is valued at $2.5 billion.

    However the company will start construction when the law on oil products export is passed. It should be reminded that in the middle of March Andrei Gaidamaka, head of the company’s department for investment analysis and investor relations proposed at the round table meeting of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs  to stimulate oil refining through differentiation of export duties for oil products depending on their quality. Export duties for crude and oil products should be regulated by the federal law.

    Plans for ten years


    Lukoil plans to extract 260 mn tons of oil in the North-West Federal District in 2008-2017, Ravil Maganov, LUKOIL Vise President announced on Friday. Lukoil expects C1 recoverable oil reserves to climb 160 mn tons in 2008-2017, including RUB 69 mn tons in the Republic of Komi, 85 mn tons in the Nenets Autonomous District and 6 mn tons in the Kaliningrad region. During this period the company plans to invest RUB 28 bn in exploration activities in the region with introduction of 60 new fields in the North-West Federal District by 2020.

    Mariya Mokeicheva