Russia's largest private oil company LUKoil will invest over 500 billion rubles ($16 billion) in the development of oil deposits in the northern part of the Caspian Sea, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.
"LUKoil continues implementing a large-scale program of the comprehensive development of the Northern Caspian Sea deposits. LUKoil will spend a very large sum and investment, considering expenditures on the coastal infrastructure, will exceed 500 billion rubles," Putin said.
The implementation of the project to develop North Caspian Sea deposits will strengthen Russia's energy potential, create new jobs and boost production in the shipbuilding industry, he said.
Earlier on Wednesday the company signed three agreements with contractors to build infrastructure at the Filanovsky oil and gas field in the Northern Caspian Sea. LUKoil expects production at the field, scheduled to be launched in 2015, to amount to 6 million tons of oil and 800 million cubic meters of natural gas per year.
