Page 88 - RusRPTAug20

9.2 ​Major corporate news 9.2.1​ Oil & gas corporate news
● Gazprom
Russia’s​ ​Gazprom​ has booked around 90%, or 25.7bn cubic metres, of the westward transit capacity of the Polish section of the Yamal-Europe pipeline in the year starting October 2020​, Poland’s gas grid operator Gaz-System has reported. Russian gas flows through Poland were ​halted​ in late May after the expiry of a gas transit deal between the two countries dating back to the 1990s. Poland is aligning its energy regulations with EU rules, which require operators to auction off access to pipeline capacity and forbid companies from having exclusive rights to that capacity. The rules allow legacy contracts such as the transit agreement between Poland and Russia to continue, but block their renewal. Since then Gaz-System has been holding the required auctions. “Booking 90% of capacity might partially reflect Gazprom’s expectations of European gas demand recovering to historic levels in 2021,” VTB Capital (VTBC) wrote in a note on July 7. But it cautioned that it could also be explained by the Russian supplier redirecting transit volumes away from Ukraine.
Vadim Yakovlev, Gazprom Neft's deputy head of upstream, gave an interview to Interfax​. He highlighted that gas production will get a significant boost from the greenfield projects in Yamal and Gydan. He stated that investments in gas projects will account for 30% of capex over the next three years and that gas output will reach 45% of total hydrocarbon production (versus 34% in 2019) after the launch of greenfields at Yamal in 2024-26, offering modest upside to our estimates. The projects include developing the Achimov layers at the Urengoiskoye, Bovanenkovo and Kharasavey fields.
Gazprom Neft​ has launched a complex processing unit (Euro+) at its Moscow refinery, ​Interfax reports. The new complex replaces five old units and integrates all the refining processes, from crude distillation to the production of gasoline, aviation fuel and diesel. According to the company, it will allow the refinery to cut energy consumption 7% and increase the timespan between maintenance works to four years (from two at present). The complex will make it possible to increase refinery throughput up to 12mnt/a and grow the product yield. In particular, the maximum gasoline and diesel output at the refinery might rise 15% and 40%, respectively. According to Minister of Energy Alexander Novak, Gazprom Neft might spend a further RUB160bn on modernising the refinery in the coming years.
A company related to​ ​Gazprom​ might have acquired Stroytransneftegaz back in May​, RBC reports. Stroytransneftegaz is one of Gazprom's largest contractors and has participated in the gas company's major projects, including the construction of the Power of Siberia pipeline, infrastructure development at the Chayanda field and the gasification of Russian regions. The exact name of the acquirer is unknown, but RBC writes that the acquisition was made by Gazstroyprom, a company related to Gazprom. The acquisition price was not disclosed, but RBC's sources estimate it at RUB 30bn.
● Rosneft
88​ RUSSIA Country Report​ August 2020 ​ ​www.intellinews.com