Shell walks away in western Siberia

Yamalo-Nenets joint venture with Gazprom Neft falls victim to capex cuts

Shell exited a commitment to partner Russian producer Gazprom Neft by taking a 50pc stake in its Meretoyakhaneftegaz subsidiary in mid-April—despite only having struck the deal last year. The joint venture (JV) was due to target 8bn bl of in-place oil at the Meretoyakhinskoye field and the surrounding area in the Yamalo-Nenets region. Work was slated to begin before year-end. Shell’s exit is due to the “challenging external environment,” the major says. And it is hardly a huge surprise given the 20pc cut to 2020 capex announced last month. But it is a blow to Gazprom Neft’s hopes of deepening the firms’ partnerships— having invited Shell to team up at new oil ventures across Siberia and the