RussNeft intends to purchase oil assets in Azerbaijan

According to RIA Novosti, Mikhail Gutseriyev said RussNeft planned to increase its oil output to 25 million metric tons (502,054 bbl/d) from the current 17 million metric tons (341,397 bbl/d) by the end of 2006.

According to Gutseriyev, RussNeft intends to purchase oil assets in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Mauritania, and also to acquire new oil deposits in Russia's East and West Siberia - the traditional regions of its operations.

Gutseriyev said the company also intended to invest $300 million in efforts to modernize and increase the yields of its existing oil fields in 2006.

The company's president also said RussNeft would register a joint venture in Algeria next month to bid for the development of Algerian oil deposits. He said the joint venture would be registered on a parity basis with Algerian partners or RussNeft's stake in the joint undertaking could equal 75%.

Gutseriyev said RussNeft was currently in partnership talks with some Algerian companies but did not give their names. He added that his company intended to bid for one large or two small oil fields in Algeria. Initial investment in the development of oil deposits is estimated at $100 million, Gutseriyev said.

RussNeft is a vertically integrated oil holding company, and is among the country's top ten oil producers. Its recoverable oil reserves exceed 630 million metric tons (12.6 million bbl/d).