Russian oil industry's technological independence to bring equipment manufacturers another 1 trln rubles in orders - Gazprom Neft CEO

MOSCOW. July 2 (Interfax) - The Russian oil industry's technological independence will bring equipment manufacturers another 1 trillion rubles in orders, Alexander Dyukov, head of oil producer Gazprom Neft , said at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"The oil sector is a knowledge-intensive sector. To discover, produce and process oil we need thousands of technologies and thousands of different types of equipment, specifically 1,400 types of basic equipment that are necessary for this purpose. When it comes to machine building and Russian oil companies, we have made a lot of progress during this time to achieve independence from imports and to ensure technological independence. If we look at equipment shortage, currently it is only 200 items. We have set ourselves the task of eliminating this equipment shortfall by 2027," Dyukov said, according to a transcript of the meeting, posted on the Kremlin's website.

"In terms of technology, we are independent from imports, fully independent technologically. There is a slight dependence on equipment, but it will be eliminated by 2027. This will not only allow us to achieve technological independence, but it will also provide additional orders for our machine builders. According to our estimates, the value of these additional orders amounts to 1 trillion rubles," he said.

Regarding the company's performance, Dyukov said last year was a successful one for the company and there had also been strong results in the first quarter of this year. "Gazprom Neft continues to operate steadily, meeting the demand for oil and petroleum products in both domestic and foreign markets. However, serving the needs of the domestic market remains our priority," he said.

"The Russian economy is growing at a rapid pace. There is an increasing demand for motor fuels and other oil products, lubricants, bitumen materials, and petrochemicals. Both the industry as a whole and Gazprom Neft are responding to this demand by increasing production volumes and supplies to the domestic market," Dyukov said.

He said the company's tax contributions increased by 57% in the first quarter alone compared to the same period in 2023.

Dyukov said that in April, Gazprom Neft put the third block of the Urengoyskoye field commercially on stream. It is developing several major fields in the Arctic and Eastern Siberia.

"Developing technology and working with hard-to-recover reserves are crucial parts of our operations. Hard-to-recover reserves currently account for 65%, almost 70%, of the company's production portfolio. It is a very important segment," Dyukov said.

He said that last year the company upgraded the Omsk Refinery, now the largest in Russia, which has capacity of 21 million tonnes. Next year, it will complete the modernization of the Moscow Refinery.