Partnership with Shell

27 Sep 2007 11:15

O.A.O. Tatneft27 September 2007 27 September 2007 Tatneft and Shell to Develop Strategic Partnership On September 27, 2007 JSC Tatneft (Tatneft) and Shell Exploration Company (RF)B.V. (Shell) concluded Agreement on Principles of Strategic Partnership. Theagreement was signed by General Director of Tatneft Shafagat F. Takhautdinov andShell Country Chairman in Russia Chris Finlayson in the presence of R.N.Minnikhanov, Prime Minister of Tatarstan and Chairman of the Board of Directorsof Tatneft. Under the terms of the agreement, the two companies will devise a program forheavy oil development in Tatarstan. They will conduct a feasibility study andassess technologies for extraction and processing (upgrading) of heavy oil,which is part of existing exploration and production licenses held by Tatneft. This agreement opens the door to other potential joint activities, including theacquisition of new licenses for hydrocarbon exploration in Tatarstan andelsewhere in Russia. As part of the agreement, Tatneft and Shell will consider establishing a jointventure or using other forms of cooperation. Commenting on the agreement Shafagat F. Takhautdinov said: "The oilmen ofTatarstan celebrated the production of three billion tonnes of oil this year. Weare confident that production of the heavy oil will give a new impetus to thedevelopment of the oil-producing industry in Tatarstan and will enable us tomake significant strides toward reaching a level of four billion tonnes of oilproduction in our Republic. Tatneft has 30 years of experience in heavy oil(bitumen) development in Tatarstan and has tested multiple technologies duringthis period. Cooperation with Shell, which is known for its advancedtechnologies for development of heavy oil worldwide, will combine experienceaccumulated by both companies and will become an important step in implementingthis project". Chris Finlayson said: "Shell has long been at the forefront of developing newtechnology to extract and process heavy oil. In a variety of places where weoperate -- including the USA, Canada and Oman -- our production techniques areopening up vast energy resources. We look forward to our cooperation with one ofRussia's largest oil and gas companies and hope that this partnership will buildTatneft's position as a leader in heavy oil development in Russia". Forward-looking statements: These materials contain statements about futureevents and expectations that are forward-looking in nature. Any statement inthese materials that is not a statement of historical fact is a forward-lookingstatement that involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factorswhich may cause actual results, performance or achievements expressed or impliedby such forward-looking statements to differ. JSC Tatneft assumes no obligationsto update the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect actualresults, changes in assumptions or changes in factors affecting thesestatements. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange