OREANDA-NEWS. The LUKOIL Board of Directors also reviewed the Company’s operating results and prospects in the Caspian region.

Over a short period of time, starting from 1995, the Company has thoroughly studied the whole Caspian Sea region (its Russian sector) from the geological point of view, its total area equaling 63,000 sq km, without attracting state funding.

As a result, a 100% confirmability of oil-and-gas content in the discovered structures has been reached, while prospect drilling efficiency amounted to 17.2 th tons per 1 drilled meter.

Exploratory drilling was performed at 6 structures, including Khvalynskoye, 170 km, Shirotnaya, Sarmatskoye, Rakushechnoe, Yuzhno-Rakushechnoe. Reserves at the newly discovered fields in the proved, probable and possible categories were estimated at 1.87 bln barrels of oil and more than 17 trillion cu feet of gas as of the end of 2006.

Basic oil reserves (around 70%) are concentrated in V. Filanovskogo field, the largest one to be discovered in the country in the recent 20 years, while major gas reserves (around 40%) are concentrated in Khvalynskoye field.