Page 153 - RusRPTApr21

Gazprom records first net loss since 1998. The Russian gas companies published its FY20 RAS results on 24 March, reporting a net loss of RUB706.9bn. The RAS results are not used in dividend calculations. Revenue from gas sales was down 20% y/y to RUB2.6 trillion and oil product sales were down 11% y/y, pushing total revenue down 15% y/y to RUB4.1trillion. Total costs of sales were down 6% y/y and gross profit fell 25% y/y to RUB1.6trillion. With the 6% increase in commercial costs, profit from sales was just RUB11bn. Gazprom’s interest income decreased 29% y/y and its interest expense rose 7% y/y. The company reported a 114% y/y increase in other expenses to RUB2.2trillion. The company reported a RUB706.9bn net loss vs. the restated RUB734bn in net profit in 2019. The main reason behind the net loss was Gazprom Neft’s lower market capitalization, which was adjusted by RUB466bn. Gazprom now takes into account the market value of Gazprom Neft in its RAS results, according to Kommersant. Other notes from the accounts include that Gazprom created a liquidity cushion of RUB650bn and that it repaid Gazprombank RUB76.2bn in principal and RUB1.88bn in interest in 2020.
Gazprom’s long-term gas strategy envisages the company using the Tambeyskoye field on the Yamal peninsula for LNG production, Kommersant reports. The LNG plant’s capacity could be 20mnt/a, and it might be launched in 2030. The field is close to Sabetta port, which is used by Novatek. According to the paper, the field’s reserves amount to 5.5tcm of natural gas. Gazprom itself is now only considering developing the field in such a way, while it had initially planned to monetise the reserves by supplying the Unified Gas System and pipeline exports.
● Rosneft
Rosneft is selling its three southern oil assets and could complete deals for all three by the end of May, sources told Reuters on March 10, as Russia’s top oil company shifts focus to the giant northern Vostok Oil project, Reuters reports. Vostok Oil, in which global commodities trader Trafigura has a 10% stake, is one of Russia’s biggest oil projects, comparable in size with the exploration of West Siberia in the 1970s or the U.S. Bakken oil province over the past decade. Rosneft was selling its southern Stavropolneftegaz, Ingushneft and Dagneft with combined oil output of about 1 million tonnes per year, a fraction of the 205 million tonnes it pumped in 2020 (4.1 million barrels per day), four industry sources familiar with talks said. Cengeo, a private Russian company which focuses on mature oil fields, has already bought a 51% stake in Ingushneft and was expected to buy Stavropolneftegaz and Dagneft by the end of May, two sources said. Rosneft and Cengeo did not respond to requests for comment from Reuters. Rosneft has previously estimated that Vostok Oil, which will start production later this decade, would require more than 10 trillion roubles ($135 billion) in investments.
153 RUSSIA Country Report April 2021 www.intellinews.com