icon bookmark-bicon bookmarkicon cameraicon checkicon chevron downicon chevron lefticon chevron righticon chevron upicon closeicon v-compressicon downloadicon editicon v-expandicon fbicon fileicon filtericon flag ruicon full chevron downicon full chevron lefticon full chevron righticon full chevron upicon gpicon insicon mailicon moveicon-musicicon mutedicon nomutedicon okicon v-pauseicon v-playicon searchicon shareicon sign inicon sign upicon stepbackicon stepforicon swipe downicon tagicon tagsicon tgicon trashicon twicon vkicon yticon wticon fm
24 Jul, 2018 08:22

Rosneft sees oil at $80 by Christmas

Rosneft sees oil at $80 by Christmas

Rosneft’s chief executive Igor Sechin expects Brent could reach US$80 a barrel by this year’s end, Interfax reports citing a TV interview of the oil tycoon.

The company’s budget for the year is based on a much lower price, at $63 a barrel, Sechin added, so it’s hardly a surprise the CEO is happy with where prices are now.

Rosneft reported a sevenfold increase in its net profit for the first quarter of this year on the back of higher oil prices, event though production was lower. The company accounts for about 40 percent of Russia’s total oil production, which has made it key for the production cut Russia agreed with OPEC.

Now that production is once again on the rise following loud complaints from some of the biggest importers of crude, Rosneft stands to benefit more than smaller companies.

The company has made it clear that despite the production cuts, it was eager to boost production both domestically and internationally. It has also launched an ambitious overhaul that should see Rosneft buy back $2 billion in stock, slash capex by as much as 20 percent and raise its working capital by US$3.15 billion (200 billion rubles) by the end of this year.

Meanwhile, the company is growing in places like Kurdistan and Nigeria. In May, the company announced the discovery of a potentially huge oil field in southwestern Iraq, and a month later, media reported that Rosneft would be partnering with a Nigerian company to develop 21 oil blocks across Africa.

Rosneft doesn’t have a significant presence in Africa except for a 30-percent stake in the giant Zohr gas field offshore Egypt in the Mediterranean, as well as some prospects in Mozambique.

Read more on Oilprice.com: Iraq Orders Internet Blackout To Quell Protests

Gaining access to more projects in Africa could be an important development for Rosneft to expand its global footprint, especially since US sanctions on Russia are not seen to be an issue in this region.

This article was originally published on Oilprice.com

Podcasts
0:00
26:13
0:00
24:57