Russia’s move is important as OVL, which has 20% stake in Sakhalin-I oilfields, recently received its share of crude oil from there. While stakes in Sakhalin-I and II projects have already been decided, Russia plans to invite bids for Sakhalin-III, IV, V and VI now where Indian firms are looking for participation. The valuation of the 1% stake pegs the total value of Rosneft at $100 billion. Currently, according to the Fortune 500 list of 2006, the pecking order of the world’s largest oil and gas firms has ExxonMobil at the top with revenue of $339 billion, followed by Chevron ($189 billion) and ConocoPhillips ($166 billion). Informed sources told FE, “This is the outcome of the ongoing diplomatic moves between the two countries. The visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin as the guest of honour on the Republic Day parade kick-started the process of increasing cooperation between the two countries.”
Rosneft recently announced it was the world leader among public companies in oil reserves after booking a 6.1% increase in its hydrocarbons reserves in 2006. It had estimated net proven reserves of 20.08 billion barrels of oil equivalent, including 15.96 billion barrels of oil and 24.75 trillion cubic feet of gas, according to the Society of Petroleum Engineers Classification. Rosneft’s proven oil and gas condensate reserves rose by 7.3% in 2006, while its gas reserves increased 1.5%. The company said its hydrocarbon reserve life was 27 to 30 years for oil and 51 years for gas. Russia’s gesture is quite significant, especially when Russian ambassador to the Philippines Vitaly Vorobiev said on April 24 that his country was laying the infrastructure to become a major oil supplier to Asian countries.
Many Asian economies, dependent on West Asian oil for long, have been turning to possible alternative sources like Russia. An ambitious project, involving the construction of an oil pipeline from East Siberia to Russia’s Pacific coast could bring larger volumes of oil—possibly at cheaper prices to Asian countries. (financialexpress.com)
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