RusEnergy

Nov. 01, 2007 - Kommersant - Itera has confirmed the intention to sell oil and other non-core assets, counting to generate up to $500 million from it and investing the money in gas business. The plan is to triple gas production to from 20 billion cu meters to 22 billion cu meters in the following five years and the company needs at least $700 million to $800 million for this purpose. Yesterday, Itera released the information memorandum elaborated for the future bond loan worth 5 billion rubles. The document confirms the plans for the asset restructuring, whereby Itera will gradually step up its direct ownership in gas production enterprises and sales companies and withdraw from non-core and oil assets. It will sell the latter to generate money for buying new promising gas production companies. According to the company’s representatives, the overall proven reserves of its oil fields equal 90.4 million barrels (12.3 million tons), the probable reserves are estimated at 127 million barrels (17.3 million tons) and the possible ones equal 457 million barrels (58.2 million tons). Under Itera’s estimate, their worth is $300 million to $500 million, depending on the market opportunities. Itera will attempt to dispose of the fields by late 2008, selling them not via a single lot, but one by one – the fields are located in different regions of Russia. The analysts say the fair value of the assets is $500 million. In Itera, they are going to spend money to develop gas business both in Russia and overseas, but mostly in Russia and mostly in Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District.