Gazprom Neft Ramps up Gas Output in 2019
Russia's Gazprom Neft produced 9.8% more gas last year than it had in 2018, logging 1.442 trillion ft3 (40.8bn m3), the company said in results published on February 25.
This growth led to Gazprom Neft's overall hydrocarbon output rising 3.5% to 1.95mn barrels of oil equivalent/day in 2019. The company mainly focuses on oil extraction, but Russia's commitments as part of the Opec+ group meant it could only increase its oil output by 0.9% last year to 1.29mn barrels/day, after achieving much faster rates of growth in previous years.
Gazprom Neft attributed its higher gas output to the commissioning of a second gas processing train in late 2018 at the Novoportovskoye field in the Russian Arctic; increased contributions from its Arcticgas venture with Novatek; and the launch of a gas compressor station in the Orenburg region, in southern Russia.
The company reported a 6.2% growth in profits to shareholders in 2019 of rubles 400.2bn ($6.12bn), owing to a stronger ruble and increased financial earnings. Revenues were unchanged at rubles 2.49 trillion, as production growth was offset by weaker prices, while pre-tax earnings (Ebitda) were down 0.5% at rubles 795bn.