Austria’s OMV said on March 6 that it signed an agreement to acquire a
24.99% share in Russia’s Yuzhno Russkoye natural gas field located in
Western Siberia from Uniper SE for $1,850 million (approximately €1,749
million) plus cash on the balance sheet per December 31, 2016. The
transaction is anticipated to close by year-end and will be
retroactively effective as of January 1, 2017, OMV said in a press
release. The implementation of the transaction is subject to further
conditions, including co-shareholder consent as well as merger control
and foreign investment control clearance in Russia.
“The acquisition will build a new core area, Russia, in our upstream
portfolio adding 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day to OMV’s
production,” OMV CEO
Rainer Seele said. “After closing,
OMV will produce in total more than 400,000 barrels of oil equivalent
per day. This transaction is fully compliant with the execution of our
strategy and significantly reduces OMV’s production cost.”
The Yuzhno Russkoye field is one of the largest gas fields in Russia,
situated in the Yamal-Nenets region. Current plateau production of the
field amounts to 25 billion cubic metres per year (100%). The license
will expire by the end of 2043. The gas from the field is the key
resource for the Nord Stream pipeline, which supplies Germany directly
with Russian gas.
OMV Board Member Upstream
Johann Pleininger
explained that an important strategic rationale behind this transaction
is the ability to replenish reserves. “With remaining recoverable
reserves of around 580 million barrels of oil equivelent (OMV share),
Yuzhno Russkoye becomes a major source of reserve replenishment in OMV’s
portfolio. The transaction enables OMV to reach its strategic target of
a 100% reserves replacement rate for a period of around five years
based on OMV’s 2016 production volume,” he added.
https://www.neweurope.eu/article/austrias-omv-enters-russias-yuzhno-russkoye-gas-field/