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
Also in this section
24 April 2024
But even planned exploration activity is unlikely to reverse declining output from mature fields
23 April 2024
Cheaper Russian barrels and lower overall crude prices have helped cut key oil consumer’s import bills in election year
22 April 2024
Pursuing three different goals as part of the same package may mean achieving none of them
22 April 2024
Beijing’s renewed targeting of NOC management could threaten investment