OREANDA-NEWS. September 23, 2011. The Board of Directors of Gazprom Neft has approved entering into a sale and purchase agreement with JSC Gazprom for shares in ZAO Gazprom Neft Orenburg, which holds a license to develop the Eastern part of the Orenburg Oil and Gas Condensate Field (Orenburg Region). Under the deal, Gazprom Neft will be able to acquire 61.8% of the share capital of Gazprom Neft Orenburg for RUB 3.576 billion. A market valuation of the asset was conducted by ZAO International Business Centre: Consulting, Investments, Valuation. The remaining shares in Gazprom Neft Orenburg (which are owned by OOO Gazprom Dobycha Orenburg) and part of the field's infrastructure (belonging to JSC Gazprom) will be acquired after the necessary corporate procedures have been completed.

Gazprom Neft has also reached an understanding on the purchase of 86.38% of JSC Yuzhuralneftegaz, which owns a license for the Kapitonovskoye field, located in the Orenburg Region. The field's recoverable reserves are estimated at 5.8 million tonnes of oil and 2.8 billion cubic meters of gas (category ABC1 + C2). The deal is expected to be completed by the end of 2011. The remaining shares in Yuzhuralneftegaz belong to the government of the Orenburg Region, with which Gazprom Neft entered into a socioeconomic partnership agreement on 16 September.

The Kapitonovskoye field is situated 30 km from the first asset that Gazprom Neft acquired in the Orenburg Region earlier in September – the Tsarichanskoye field. Utilising the infrastructure of the Kapitonovskoye field will make it possible to achieve a significant synergetic effect when developing the Tsarichanskoye site. Both sites are located next to the Eastern part of the Orenburg field.

"Gazprom Neft is steadily creating a new production cluster in the Orenburg Region. By completing the acquisition of the Eastern part of the Orenburg field and the adjacent sites, the company will form a powerful resource base in the region and will then commence the full-scale development of this territory, taking full advantage of the achieved synergetic effect. Over the medium term, the Orenburg Region will become a significant growth point for us: Over the next five years, we intend to triple hydrocarbon production, raising it to 5 million tones of oil equivalenta year. This will help the company achieve its strategic goals, which call for doubling our production volumes by 2020," commented Vadim Yakovlev, First Deputy CEO of Gazprom Neft.