Petrom oil production core relocates to Kazakhstan

Romania's largest company, Petrom, part of the Austrian OMV oil and gas group, began production at Komsomolskoe, in Kazakhstan, following a €180 million investment, at a deposit which is due to become the most important in the company's portfolio, as of next year.

"If we compare what we presently produce in Romania at one deposit with how much oil we will produce at Komsomolskoe in Kazakhstan as of next year, this is our largest oil deposit, while the Black Sea Lebada perimeter remains the largest for oil and gas," Petrom officials told Business Standard yesterday.

The Komsomolskoe deposit has proven and probable reserves estimated at 34 million barrels and is operated by Petrom through the TOO Kom-Munai company. The initial daily production is now at some 1,000 barrels and will increase constantly as new derricks become operational, according to a company statement sent to the Bucharest Stock Exchange. Petrom's target for Exploration&Production (E&P) in Romania is 210,000 barrel of oil equivalent (BOE) per day for 2010, and 20,000 BOE per day at the international level, after the company reduced its target from a daily 30,000 BOE in 2008.

According to Petrom officials, the exploitation of the Komsomolskoe deposit will boost international production in the Caspian Sea, just enough to meet the target of some 20,000 BOE daily. Petrom entered the phase of development of the Komsomolskoe deposit, after it obtained the necessary approvals from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources in Kazakhstan.

The oil company operates the Komsomolskoe deposit through the TOO Kom-Munai company, in which it owns 95 percent of the firm's shares.

The stock package was acquired in 2003, so that Petrom also has the development and production rights for the Komsomolskoe perimeter.

Business Standard