The German-Russian joint venture Wolgodeminoil, headquartered in Volgograd, southern Russia, has reached a significant milestone: at the beginning of August, the 50:50 joint venture between the BASF subsidiary Wintershall and RITEK, a subsidiary of the Russian energy giant LUKOIL, produced the ten millionth ton of crude oil.

Wintershall's involvement in southern Russia dates back to 1992. At that time, the energy producer from Hesse, Germany, became one of the first western companies to enter into a business relationship with a Russian partner in the oil and gas production sector.

"At the beginning of the 1990s we proved our pioneering spirit together. Creativity, team spirit and, above all, the combined expertise of the Russian and German employees have led the joint venture from success to success.

The total production volume of 10 million tons of oil is an important milestone for the company, which we are extremely delighted about," explains Thilo Wieland, Wintershall's Executive Board member responsible for exploration and production in Russia.

Wolgodeminoil currently produces oil and natural gas from 12 fields across a concession area covering 13,625 square kilometers. The total size of the licensed areas is roughly comparable to the state of Schleswig-Holstein. "Last year alone we produced around 520,000 tons of crude oil and about 130 million cubic meters of gas," says Pavel Ivanov, General Director of Wolgodeminoil. Over the next five years, Wolgodeminoil plans to conduct 3D seismic surveys across an area 1,700 square kilometers in size, and drill 20 exploration wells.

About Wintershall

Wintershall Holding GmbH, based in Kassel, Germany, is a wholly owned subsidiary of BASF in Ludwigshafen. The company has been active in the extraction of natural resources for 120 years, and in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas for over 85 years. Wintershall focuses on selected core regions where the company has built up a high level of regional and technological expertise. These are Europe, Russia, North Africa, South America, and increasingly the Middle East region. The company wants to expand its business further with exploration and production, selected partnerships, innovation and technological competence. Wintershall employs about 2,000 staff worldwide from 50 nations and is now Germany’s largest, internationally active crude oil and natural gas producer.

About LUKOIL

PJSC “LUKOIL” is one of the largest publicly traded, vertically integrated oil and gas companies in the world in terms of proved hydrocarbon reserves and production; and the second largest producer of crude oil in Russia. Established in 1991, the Company currently operates in more than 30 countries with core upstream assets located in Russia. The full production cycle includes oil and gas exploration, production and refining; production of petrochemicals and lubricants; power generation; marketing and distribution providing LUKOIL with maximum synergies from its activities. The Company’s shares are listed in Russia on Moscow Exchange under the ticker “LKOH” and depositary receipts are listed on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker “LKOD”.