MOSCOW, May 19 (UPI) -- Russian energy company Gazprom Neft said Tuesday crude oil production was up year-on-year, driven largely by arctic and Iraqi developments..
The oil arm of Russian energy giant Gazprom reported a 1.3 percent decline in year-on-year sales, but a 3.5 percent rise in net profits. Sales from the fourth quarter were down 14.5 percent and no quarter-to-quarter figures were published for profits.
Year-on-year net hydrocarbon production increased 15.8 percent to 135.1 million barrels of oil equivalent.
The company attributed the increase in production to the start of the Prirazlomnoye field in the Pechora Sea and at the Badra field in Iraq, "as well as increased utilization of associated petroleum gas and successful implementation of advanced technologies at mature assets."
The company expects 2.2 million barrels worth of production from the arctic Prirazlomnoye field during the first full year of development.
In Iraq, the Russian company said a pipeline from the Badra field near the border with Iran was delivering oil at a rate of 15,000 barrels per day. The terms of its Iraqi contract call for the eventual production of 170,000 barrels per day.
A delegation from Gazprom Neft met Monday in the Kurdish north of Iraq to discuss oil developments there. The company has said it was ready to survey the reserve potential in the Halabja block in the region, where it said there's been "very little geological study."
Gazprom Neft's report follows a downturn in the Russian economy, which relies heavily on oil for revenue. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in mid-January said the economic situation in the country was "problematic to say the least."
Parent company Gazprom in April said its profits for the year ending Dec. 31 were down 86 percent on currency values and charges tied to Ukraine.
