In February 2014, Gazprom Neft successfully completed testing on its second well at the Badra field, operated by the Company. Three tests on the well delivered average daily flow rate of 10,000 barrels of oil, in line with forecasts.

Completed testing on two wells (test launch of the first well was concluded in December 2013) will enable the Company to begin commercial oil production at the Badra field over the next few months. Drilling work is continuing on a third well and drilling rigs are being mobilised to drill six additional wells as part of the contract signed in 2013 with Chinese company ZPEC.

Laying and testing of the oil pipeline from Gharraf oilfield, connecting it to the main Iraqi pipeline system, was completed in February. Construction of the first phase of the central gathering station (CGS), with 60,000 barrel per year oil capacity, is almost completed. Works has also started on establishing a gas processing facility with a capacity of 1.5 billion cubic metres per year.

About the The Badra oil field

The Badra oil field is located in Wasit Province in Eastern Iraq. According to preliminary estimates, geologic reserves at the Badra field amount to 3 billion barrels of oil. The contract with the Iraqi government for development of the oil field was signed in January 2010 upon completion of a bid process in December 2009. The winning bid was submitted by a consortium of companies consisting of Gazprom Neft, KOGAS (Korea), PETRONAS (Malaysia), and TPAO (Turkey).

Gazprom Neft’s share in the project is 30 percent, while KOGAS has 22.5 percent, PETRONAS has 15 percent, and TPAO has 7.5 percent. The share of the Iraqi government, represented in the project by the Iraqi Oil Exploration Company (OEC), is 25 percent. Gazprom Neft is the project operator.

The Badra oil field development project is designed to last twenty years, with a possible extension of five more years. By 2017, the production volume is forecast to reach 170,000 barrels of oil per day (approximately 8.5 million tonnes per year), and remain at that level for seven years.

About Gazprom Neft

Gazprom Neft is a vertically integrated oil company primarily engaged in oil & gas exploration and production (E&P), the sale and distribution of crude oil, and the production and sale of petroleum products.

The company’s proven SPE (PRMS) hydrocarbon reserves exceed 1.2 billion tonnes of oil equivalent (toe), placing it among the world’s 20 largest oil companies.

The company operates in many of Russia’s prominent oil and gas regions including Khanty-Mansiysk (Yugra), Omsk, Orenburg, Tomsk, and Yamalo-Nenets. Gazprom Neft’s major refining facilities are located in Moscow, Omsk, and Yaroslavl, and it also has refineries in Serbia. Apart from its upstream activities in Russia, the company is involved in international E&P, including projects in Iraq and Venezuela.