Russia plans to kick-start unfinished oil wells programme this year: RIA

MOSCOW: Russia plans to launch a programme to part build oil wells this year so it can quickly ramp up production when the global deal on output curbs expires in 2022, RIA news agency quoted senior officials as saying on Thursday.

To ensure Russia does not lose market share when the production cut agreement ends, Moscow has worked out a programme to start drilling the wells, which can be quickly completed and start operating once the deal expires and as oil prices recover.

“All decisions to safeguard oil servicing companies, keep the speed of growth in (oil) output following the recovery of the market and exit of the OPEC+ deal have been approved,” RIA cited Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov as saying.

Banks will provide part of the funds under guarantees from state development bank VEB.”There is a nuance left with VEB capital. Once the issue is resolved, everything could be launched quickly,” RIA quoted Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin as saying, without further elaboration.

RIA also quoted Borisov, who is in charge of the energy sector, as saying that the government had asked energy giant Rosneft to present a feasibility study for a petrochemical project in the Russian Far East.

Rosneft has long mooted setting up the complex, to be called the Eastern Petrochemical Company, or VNKhK, in the port of Nakhodka. It said last year the complex was being removed from the company’s long-term investment programme because it expected high taxes on the project.In August, Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin told President Vladimir Putin the company could return to the project if the financial conditions were favourable.