Russia’s gas export monopoly Gazprom fully replaced production with new discoveries in 2006, adding some 582 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas to its reserves – equal to one-fifth of global consumption.
The head of Gazprom’s gas production department, Vasily Podyuk, told a Russian gas industry newsletter that reserves replacement was 105 percent of Gazprom’s 2006 gas output of 552 bcm, implying a net addition of 30 bcm.
A Gazprom spokesman said the firm had yet to release an audited reserves report, which usually takes place closer to its June shareholders meeting.
The addition – enough to meet the European Union’s total needs for more than a year – may help the Russian behemoth soothe criticism that it is not investing enough to meet growing demand.
Gazprom, the world’s biggest producer of natural gas and a key supplier to Europe, has been striving to shore up its reserves for over a decade and managed to fully replace output only in 2005, when it added 583 bcm to its reserves.
The International Energy Agency has said Gazprom is not investing enough and Europe may suffer gas shortage next decade, but Gazprom has retorted that it is able to boost output at any moment if its clients ask for more gas.
Gazprom, with reserves of over 1,000 trillion cubic feet of gas, already controls a quarter of the world’s reserves.
It has said its reserves could double by 2020 due to exploration of new regions – such as East Siberia and the Arctic.
The company supplies Europe with more than 150 bcm a year and wants to increase these volumes under long-term contracts and begin supplies to China from next decade.
Analysts are keen to see oil and gas firms replacing more than 100 percent of their production as a sign they can support future growth.
(Reuters)