New Projects in West Africa
An agreement was signed with Vanco Energy, an American oil and gas company, for acquisition of a 56.66% stake in three projects for exploration of prospective offshore blocks in the Gulf of Guinea (Western Africa). CI-101 and CI-401 blocks are located on the continental shelf of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire, while Cape Three Points Deep Water block is the Republic of Ghana. All three areas are located in the deepwater zone of the Gulf of Guinea, 50-100 km offshore, and are geologically confined to Tano basin wherein proven commercial oil and gas reserves were discovered.
Major Hydrocarbon Accumulation in Saudi Arabia Discovered LUKOIL and Saudi Arabian national company completed drilling of the first wildcat in Tukhman structure of Block A in Rub al-Khali desert. Following drilling of the 4.8 thousand meter wildcat, a major hydrocarbon accumulation was discovered.
Installation of a Fixed Offshore Ice-Resistant Shipping Terminal in the Barents Sea LUKOIL installs a substructure of the fixed offshore ice-resistant shipping terminal (FOIRST) on the bottom of the Barents Sea which is part of Varandey Oil Export Terminal (VOET). The FOIRST is designed to load oil into 70,000 ton deadweight tankers of reinforced ice class. It is more than 50 meters high and has a total weight of over 11,000 tons, which includes a substructure with an accommodation module, a mooring cargo handling system (MCHS) with a jib and a helipad. According to the design, the FOIRST substructure is secured with 24 piles at a 17 meter depth, 22 km offshore.
Khauzak Gas Field was Commissioned in Uzbekistan Khauzak field facilities are the first part of Kandym - Khauzak - Shady mega-project jointly implemented by LUKOIL (90% stake) and the National Holding Company Uzbekneftegaz (10%). The project’s production sharing agreement (PSA) signed in 2004 for 35 years provides for production of natural gas in Bukhara-Khivin region in the country’s southwest (Kandym, Khauzak, and Shady areas) and exploration of Kungrad block in Ustyurt region (Karakalpakia, Uzbekistan’s north).
Downstream Assets Upgraded
A number of projects aimed at upgrading of the Company’s downstream assets are under way. An isomerization unit is being commissioned at Volgograd refinery, an isomerization unit with a hydrofining block at Perm refinery, a tar visbreaking unit at Ukhta refinery, and a polypropylene production unit at Stavrolen petrochemical plant.
