Rosneft and a consortium of Vitol S.A. and Mercantile & Maritime Energy Pte. Ltd. (75% is the share of Vitol, and 25% of MME) have closed a deal to sell a 5% stake in the authorized capital of Vostok Oil LLC, Rosneft said in a statement.
The deal was approved at a meeting of the Rosneft Board of Directors. In accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, the approval of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) of Russia is not required when making a transaction.
Low unit lifting costs along with the low carbon footprint, the scale of which is 75% less as compared to that of other major petroleum projects around the world, make Vostok Oil one of the most promising oil production project in the world. Amid a progressive growth of global economy, the current shortage of investments into the petroleum industry results in a higher demand for energy sources and necessitates implementation of novel-type projects, thus making Vostok Oil especially relevant.
The resource base of the project exceeds 6 billion tons of premium-quality sweet crude with a record low sulfur content of 0.01-0.04%. The high quality of raw materials minimizes the need of using dedicated sulfur units at refineries, which, in turn, helps significantly reduce project’s greenhouse gas emissions. The energy for Vostok Oil is expected to be supplied mainly via using assotiated pteroleum gas and wind generation.
The plan is that by 2030 the oil production at Vostok Oil will make up to the tune of 100 million tons. Vostok Oil has a logistical advantage of supplying raw products produced at its fields in two directions at once, to European and Asian markets.
Commenting on the signing, Rosneft Chief Executive Officer Igor Sechin said: “We are glad that consortium of Vitol and Mercantile & Maritime Energy has joined our flagship project. Vostok Oil has a sustainable economic model, which received positive assessments of international experts. Logistical advantages, vast resource potential, and high quality of oil, make Vostok Oil one of the most attractive investment projects in the global energy sector. This fact is confirmed by world’s leading traders Trafigura and Vitol participating in the project, which will give them access to “green barrels” of Vostok Oil. The Company continues its active work towards implementation of the Vostok Oil Project.
The Vostok Oil Project comprises 52 license areas with 13 oil and gas fields located within their boundaries, including those developed with participation of the Indian partners: Vankor, Suzun, Tagul, and Lodochnoe fields, and also some new promising and unique in terms of their reserves fields: Payakhskoe and Zapadno-Irkinskoe.
At the end of 2020, the major international trading company Trafigura acquired a 10-percent stake in the project.
In 2020, Rosneft got down to large-scale development of the project’s fields. Aiming to implement the project, the Company signed contracts in June 2021 to a total of about 560 bn rubles ($7.9 bn) to construct first-priority facilities, set up the power supply system, ensure aviation support, provide services, supply equipment, materials, special-purpose vehicles, tubular products for the project.
In August, Rosneft commenced autumn navigation on the River Yenisei to deliver cargoes to Vostok Oil sites. The plan is to supply 150 thousand tons of various cargoes to Taymyr bases until the end of the river navigation period.