Oil Output in Northern Caspian May Reach 37 Mln Tonnes By 2023 – Energy Ministry

MOSCOW. July 16 (Interfax) – Oil production in the northern portion of the Caspian Sea may reach 37 million tonnes a year by 2023, Deputy Energy Ministry Anatoly Yanovsky said at the Caspian energy forum in Moscow on Wednesday.

Gas production in the region might rise to 18 billion cubic meters (bcm) a year by 2023, he said, citing Energy Ministry estimates that include new discoveries.

Russian oil major Lukoil (RTS: LKOH) has reserves in the northern Caspian topping 290 million tonnes of oil and 710 bcm of gas. Lukoil expects to produce 13 million tonnes of oil and 15 bcm of gas in the region in 2014.

Total production in the region by all the Caspian states will increase “to 180 million-240 million tonnes of oil and 200-250 bcm of gas in five-seven years,” Yanovsky said.

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