Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of Russian gas giant Gazprom, expects its hydrocarbon production to exceed 100 million tonnes of oil equivalent this year, reaching a record high, it said on Thursday.
Gazprom Neft had aimed to reach the 100 million tonnes target by 2020 but had to delay that due to production restrictions agreed by the OPEC+ group of leading oil producing countries.
The company has been actively developing northern regions of Russia, mainly the Yamal region, as its key oilfields in Western Siberia are beсoming increasingly depleted.
Gazprom Neft said on Thursday that higher production volumes in 2021 have been supported by the commissioning of the Tazovskoye field in the Yamal-Nenets region, as well as the launch of a new integrated gas treatment plant at the Vostochno-Messoyakhskoye field.
The company also said it would increase investment next year.
"In 2022, Gazprom Neft's total investment is expected to increase by more than 10%, with funding for the investment program expected to exceed 500 billion roubles ($6.8 billion)," it said.
($1 = 73.6975 roubles)
(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin and Olesya Astakhova Editing by David Goodman and Susan Fenton)