Slavneft To Spend $99M On Investments In 2002

The investment program of the Slavneft oil company will amount to about 3 billion rubles (about $99 million) in 2002, Slavneft Vice President Andrey Shtorkh announced at a meeting with journalists today. In particular, 1.1 billion rubles ($36 million) will be allocated for the development of the company's sales network and 1.5 billion rubles ($50 million) for oil production. The remaining investments will be spent on the reconstruction of oil refineries. The Vice President noted that this investment program was calculated on the basis of an oil price of $17 per barrel; however, Slavneft authorities believe that oil prices will remain at the level from $22 to $25 per barrel next year. Andrey Shtorkh announced that, according to preliminary estimations, net profits of Slavneft in 2001 will 35 or 40 per cent less than in 2000 due to an increase in tariffs for services of natural monopolies and the unfavorable situation on international oil markets