Russian Information Agency Novosti: SHELL'S RUSSIAN UNIT STARTS OIL EXTRACTION IN WESTERN SIBERIA ONE YEAR AHEAD OF SCHEDULE (ShellNews.net) Posted 16 Dec 04

MOSCOW, (RIA Novosti) - Salym Petroleum Development (SPD) NV, a Russian unit of Royal Dutch/Shell, has begun the extraction of oil from the Western Salym field, in Siberia, one year ahead of the time envisaged in the licensing agreement, Chief Executive Dale Rollins said Wednesday at a press conference on the RIA Novosti premises.

According to Mr. Rollins, the company plans to surpass the annual production targets provided for in the agreement (100,000 to 150,000 tons, or 700,000 to 1 million barrels). The ambition is to top the output of 1 million barrels by the end of next year, he said.

The earlier-than-planned launch of producing wells will make it possible for the SPD company to ensure the achievement of production levels set in the technological development scheme and to better prepare itself for the Western Salym field's full-scale industrial development, its CEO said.

Salym Petroleum Development N.V. has been co-founded by Shell Salym Development B.V. and Evikhon Co., controlled by Britain's Sibir Energy.

SPD has been licensed to recover oil from all the three fields of the Salym deposit, located 190 kilometers away from Nefteyugansk (it is here that Yuganskneftegaz, the main production unit of the embattled Russian oil giant Yukos, is registered). These include the Western Salym deposit, the Upper Salym deposit, and the Vadelyp deposit.

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