Russia’s Gazprom Neft eyes Iranian fields

Russian oil company Gazprom Neft is interested in developing fields in Iran but has held no negotiations so far, First Deputy CEO Vadim Yakovlev said on February 5, Prime has reported.

“We are assessing the conditions. We are interested and if everything suits us we may start to value certain projects and deposits,” Yakovlev said.

Gazprom Neft signed a mutual understanding memorandum with the state-run National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) in 2009 to develop the Azar and Shanguleh deposits. Experts said that the deals did not advance after that because Gazprom Neft feared low profitability and possible sanctions by Western countries.

Yakovlev separately said that Gazprom Neft will not increase its 20% stake in the National Oil Consortium which holds a stake in Russian–Venezuelan joint venture Petromiranda, the operator of the Junin-6 block in the South American country. Gazprom Neft has held no talks with Russian oil major Lukoil, which plans to sell its 20% stake in the consortium, Yakovlev said.

In Equatorial Guinea, Gazprom Neft has quit the project to develop two sea blocks, Yakovlev also said. Gazprom Neft signed an agreement to join the project in 2011.

Gazprom Neft will participate in the tenders for oil deposit licenses in Croatia. “The Balkans is a strategic region for us, an interesting region. Apart from Serbia, we have projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, and Hungary. Croatia is also interesting to us. It all will depend on the local authorities, they are preparing to hold license tender rounds in which we would like to participate,” Yakovlev said.

Copyright: Prime, 2014