| 2008-03-24 |
Published: RusEnergy |
gaz
ITERA Oil and Gas Company, one of the largest players of the Russian gas market, began buying up hydrocarbon blocks in the Sverdlovsk Region. As it was reported earlier, Ovit Limited Liability Company controlled by ITERA, has purchased Artinsky block for Rubles 22.8 million.
Analysts believe that the purchase of Artinsky hydrocarbon accumulation can be viewed as a natural aspiration of the Company to expand its raw material resources base, which is to improve the status of the Company in the market. In particular, Constantine Raily, an oil and gas analyst of IC Finam, told UralPolit.ru that it was especially important for ITERA in the light of its planned IPO within two or three years to come. It is because IPO would be an instrument of financing the further development of the Company. It will open up a way to cheaper sources of capital thanks to improved publicity of the currently closed Company. Expansion of the gas assets of the Company is simultaneous with withdrawal of its oil assets. As it has been reported earlier, Sergei Vorobyev, Deputy Chairman of ITERA Management Board, officially stated at the Conference of Investors in December of 2007 that the Company was planning to sell its oil assets before April 1, 2008. According to Vorobyev, the withdrawal of oil assets is effected by ITERA on an advice by investment banks and it is being done on purpose and on the gas component of the Company IPO eve, - UralPolit.ru reports.
"ITERA uses quite an aggressive marketing policy, and I think they have good development prospects. Certain danger of monopolism is there, but the government of the Region would not allow for it, though today there is no real competition in this market", – Victor Nemikhin, a BKC analyst, told UralPolit.ru.
They in ITERA explain their interest to fields in the Central Urals by a constant growth in gas consumption in the Sverdlovsk Region. Eugene Ostapov, Press Secretary of ITERA, stated publicly "Gas consumption is currently growing. For us to meet the demand we must increase gas production. ITERA has always been involved in developing fields that were not ranked among the largest ones, and our specialists assessed Artinsky block as a promising one".
Top of page
