Iran courts LUKoil
Iran has invited LUKoil to examine opportunities to expand operations in Iran's oil and gas sector.
LUKoil President Vagit Alekperov met with Iranian Deputy Oil Minister Hossein Noghrehkar Shirazi in Moscow last week to discuss progress in a project for exploring oil and gas fields in which LUKoil has an interest, the LUKoil press center said.
LUKoil has a 25 percent stake in the Anaran exploration project, and Norway's Hydro has 75 percent. The Iranian national oil company NIOC said commercial, proven reserves at the Azar field in the Anaran block. In December 2006, a second exploration well at the Anaran block in western Iran discovered a new hydrocarbon field.
Oil reserves at Anaran previously had been set at 2 billion barrels. The block consists of four structures: Azar, Changuleh-West, Dehloran and Musian. Earlier, Hydro reported that the second well had been drilled in the Changuleh-West structure.
LUKoil recently reported that U.S.-led sanctions against Iran were hampering development of the Anaran block.
LUKoil also has a contract with NIOC, signed in February 2006, on combining geological and geophysical work at the Mogan and Lali oil and gas blocks.
Russia to double gas supplies to Greece
Russia could double gas supplies to Greece by 2040, President Vladimir Putin told reporters after talks with Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis in the Kremlin on Tuesday.
"Greece is keen for Russian gas supply contracts to be signed after 2016 right up to 2040 and for those supplies to be doubled. We're prepared to work on this," Putin said.
However, "additional transport capacity will be needed for supply volumes to be increased," Putin said.
Regarding the South Stream gas pipeline project, Putin said: "This project is necessary for Europe as a whole, and for Greece," Putin said.
"It is in the early stages of its development. We can see that our European partners are interested and we are confident that our undertaking will be carried through," he said.
Regarding the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline project, Putin said this was a crucial project, for Europe included.
"We're looking not only at increasing oil supply volumes to Greece but also increasing supplies of Russian oil and oil produced in the Caspian region to the European markets," he said.
"So Greece accomplishes two tasks: firstly it improves its own energy supply, and secondly it will play an important transit role for the whole of Europe," Putin said.
"Today we've signed an important document, which represents a step towards agreeing on all positions regarding this project," Putin said.
"Several opportunities exist for us here: routing oil via Turkey, or additional flows towards Europe and emerging in northern Europe, and Burgas-Alexandroupolis. We've opted for the latter and we hope to make consistent progress with it," Putin said.
Gazprom to consolidate positions in German gas-distributing market
Gazprom will consolidate its positions in the German gas-distributing market and increase its points as a global player on the energy market, Alexei Miller, head of the Gazprom, told reporters.
"Implementation of this project means Gazprom's stronger positions in the German gas-distributing network and an Increase in the corporation's points as a global player on the energy market," he said. At the same time, Gazprom will fully meet its obligations both in the foreign and domestic markets.
Gazprom operates depending on market conditions. "Our production capacities are much greater than the annual volume of gas, produced by Gazprom every year. We shall continue operate, in future too, depending on a market situation, and Gazprom will fully meet its contractual obligations in future both to consumers on the Russian domestic market and to its foreign consumers," Miller emphasized.
According to the board head, "putting into operation the South Russian deposit is a striking example of practical implementation of the corporation's consistent policy on boosting its production capacities and creating reliable reserves for ensuring stability and security of gas supplies to inside and outside markets". "This is a practical implementation of the principle of Gazprom's cooperation with its foreign partners," he added.
Miller noted that Germany "is the corporation's biggest European market. "Over the past six years, the increase in corporation's production capacities topped 170 billion cubic meters of gas in annual terms, or nearly five-time volume of annual export of Russian gas to Germany," Miller continued.
--
Closing oil prices, Dec. 18, 3 p.m. London
Brent crude oil: $92.34
West Texas Intermediate crude oil: $91.73
--
(e-mail: [email protected])
