New Cooperation Prospects of Gazprom and LUKOIL

A working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Vagit Alekperov, President of LUKOIL, took place on January 28 in Moscow. In the course of the meeting, the parties discussed their current and future cooperation in the gas sector. In particular, attention was paid to the ongoing preparations for setting up a joint venture to develop the Vaneyvisskoye and Layavozhskoye fields.

Gazprom and LUKOIL are bound by the 2014–2024 General Agreement on Strategic Partnership, pursuant to which, among other things, LUKOIL supplies gas into Gazprom’s gas transmission system.

In 2015, Gazprom’s Sosnogorsk GPP started to receive associated petroleum gas from the northern group of fields developed by LUKOIL-Komi.

In 2018, Gazprom and LUKOIL signed the Agreement stating the intention of the parties to jointly develop the Vaneyvisskoye and Layavozhskoye fields in the Nenets Autonomous Area. The document outlines the general terms and procedure for setting up a joint venture on a parity basis to carry out the project.

Gazprom holds a subsurface use license for an area of federal significance that includes the Vaneyvisskoye and Layavozhskoye fields located to the east of Naryan-Mar in the Nenets Autonomous Area.

According to the 2014–2024 General Agreement on Strategic Partnership, the parties look into the possibilities of joint projects for hydrocarbons prospecting, development, production, treatment and transmission within the Nenets and Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Areas, the Russian continental shelf, in the Caspian Sea, Eastern Siberia and the Far East as well as other regions that may be determined additionally.

The parties also intend to cooperate within hydrocarbons development and production projects beyond Russia.

Gazprom and LUKOIL plan to coordinate their exploration activities and exchange the obtained data. They will also work out the issue of unifying the information storage standards.

The companies are also going to develop the cooperation in oil and gas condensate marine shipments from the northern areas of the Nenets and Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Areas. In addition, the parties will collaborate in pumping of natural gas produced by LUKOIL via Gazprom’s gas transmission system and in using LUKOIL’s transport and loading facilities for shipping Gazprom’s oil.

Gazprom and LUKOIL will pursue the existing partnership relations in supplying hydrocarbon feedstock and producing petrochemicals as well as allocating spare oil and gas condensate resources at gas and oil processing plants both in Russia and abroad.

The Agreement envisages the possibility for the companies to jointly devise and implement the programs for R&D activities in the energy sector. The partnership will possibly embrace the production capacities and infrastructure development as well as their sci-tech, information, environmental, social and HR support.

The Agreement pays special attention to the environmental cooperation. Thus, the parties will strive for the maximum interaction in efficiently using associated petroleum gas as well as in using natural gas as a vehicle fuel.

“We go on developing our mutually beneficial strategic cooperation with LUKOIL. Further implementation of the ongoing projects and creation of new ones will substantially increase the economic potential of our companies,” said Alexey Miller.

“The actual results of the longstanding cooperation between LUKOIL and Gazprom prove its efficiency for the businesses of both companies. The Agreement on Strategic Partnership over 2014 to 2024 opens up new prospects for us,” added Vagit Alekperov.