MOSCOW: Rosneft, Russia's top oil producer, plans to produce 25 million tonnes of oil (500,000 barrels per day) at its Vankor group of fields by 2019, the company said on Friday.
Rosneft's statement followed a Reuters report this week that output at Vankor would not reach a plateau as originally planned this year, and would only reach 23 mln t (462,000 bpd) in 2016.
The state oil major added that, apart from the Vankor field itself, the group includes the Suzun, Tagul and Lodochnoye fields, acquired through Rosneft's $55 billion takeover of TNK-BP earlier this year.
Rosneft is increasing sales to China, with exports expected to exceed 1 million barrels per day in the coming years. It now ships 300,000 bpd now shipped via a spur of the Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean (ESPO) pipeline that runs to China.
Rosneft declined to comment on the production outlook at Vankor alone. In a statement, it said it was implementing a programme to develop the so-called Vankor cluster.
"Such a multifaceted approach will make it possible to significantly extend production plateau, increase the effectiveness infrastructure use and significantly cut project costs," it said. Rosneft's Eastern Siberian fields have been a key source of incremental growth in output by Russia, the world's largest oil producing nation, lifting output to a record of 10.5 million bpd and offsetting declines in older fields in Western Siberia.
Analysts are keeping a close eye on operational execution by Rosneft, the world's largest listed oil firm by output, amid concerns it has over-committed on exports and may not be able to deliver the volumes it has pledged.
<Center><b><i>Copyright Reuters, 2013</b></i><br></center>*
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