Today in Moscow, November 17, 1998, OAO LUKOIL First Vice-President Ravil Maganov, OAO Arkhangelskgeoldobycha (AGD) General director Alexey Barinov and CONOCO Arctic Inc. President Kenneth B. Watts have signed a Protocol of Understanding to proceed with efforts to develop petroleum reserves in Northern Territories area of Russia’s Timan-Pechora Region.

The Protocol, signed in development of March 11, 1998 LUKOIL-CONOCO Memorandum, fixed that in this period of time the Feasibility Study of Investment for development of the Northern Territories group of fields on Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) terms has been approved by the Central Commission for Development under the Ministry of Fuel and Energy of Russia and Nenets Autonomous Okrug Assembly which recommended that Northern Territories group of fields should be included in the Federal Law "On the Parcels in Relation to Which the Right to Use May Be Given on PSA Terms".

Moreover, LUKOIL, AGD and Conoco have held mutual consultations and negotiations to draw up a the required agreements to regulate their relations. Now therefore the Parties have agreed to draw up and submit to the State Duma all documents required by the procedure effective in the Russian Federation to include the Northern Territories group of fields into the List of parcels which the right to use may be given on PSA terms. LUKOIL, AGD and Conoco agreed to jointly negotiate a PSA for the Northern Territories project with the Russian Federation Government and to establish a legal entity through which they will invest in the project under the negotiated PSA.

We consider this project as the most promising for our Company and we hope it will create wide prospects for new foreign investments in Russia’s energy sector - LUKOIL’s First Vice-President Ravil Maganov stressed.

Northern Territories are located in the 1.2-million-acre and are believed to hold recoverable reserves of over 1 billion barrels of crude oil and 2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Estimates indicate that full development of these reserves could have a combined impact of as much as $25 billion on the Russian economy during the life of the project.

 

 

---

Press Centre  OAO "LUKOIL"
phone.: (095)927-1677,  fax: (095)927-1653,
E-mail: pr@lukoil.com