TNK-BP to invest $45 bln in oil output

Russian state will not interfere in TNK-BP conflict - President Medvedev TNK-BP plans no new oil refineries in Siberia, Russia's Far East BP files suit against TNK-BP partner AAR sets out claim in Stockholm over BP’s breach of TNK-BP deal Russian-British joint venture TNK-BP will invest $45 billion in oil extraction and $4 billion in oil refining in the next 10 years, TNK-BP Executive Vice-President Stan Miroshnik said on Thursday. "The implementation of our strategy in oil extraction will require a $45-billion investment over the next ten years. In oil refining, which is our second priority, we'll invest $2.5 billion in raising its quality and $1.5 billion in marketing," Miroshnik told a congress of TNK-BP contractors. TNK-BP will implement measures to maintain oil output in West Siberia but the company's new strategy for the next ten yeas will focus on international projects to yield from 40 to 90 million barrels of oil a year in its oil output, he said. "Our projects in Vietnam and Venezuela are the first step in this direction," Miroshnik said. Vietnam's Block 06.1 may boost TNK-BP's overall production by 18,800 barrels of oil equivalent per day, while the Venezuelan assets include a 16.7-percent stake in PetroMonagas SA, a 40-percent stake in Petroperija SA oilfield operator and a 26.7-percent stake in Boqueron SA. Gas production will also be a top priority for TNK-BP in the next ten years and the company plans to build up gas extraction to 35 billion cubic meters in the next ten years, he said. TNK-BP plans to increase oil and gas production on the Yamal Peninsula in the Russian Arctic in the next ten years while production in West Siberia will gradually decline, Miroshnik said. "Output in Yamal will grow to 27 percent of overall production in ten years while output in West Siberia will decline to 20 percent from 50 percent," he said. TNK-BP, which accounts for 16 percent of oil production in Russia, plans to increase its 2011 oil output by 1.3 percent to 715 million barrels of oil equivalent.