Rosneft kept its grip firmly on the top spot among the world's publicly traded oil companies as it reported on Monday a 2.5 percent rise in hydrocarbon reserves for 2009 under PRMS rules.
The state-controlled firm has been a chief driver behind Russia's recent surge in oil output, which last month remained above 10 million barrels per day, mainly thanks to Rosneft's huge newly commissioned Vankor field in the Arctic.
In January, Rosneft also announced the discovery of a new field in east Siberia, Sevastyanovo, that analysts said could potentially add 4 percent to Rosneft's proven and probable reserves, as the field's reserves are estimated at 150 million metric tons.
On Monday, Rosneft reported a 163 percent reserves replacement ratio under the Petroleum Resources Management System criteria in 2009.
Russia's largest oil company said in a statement that its proved reserves under the PRMS methodology, formerly known as SPE, stood at 22.858 billion barrels of oil equivalent, up 2.5 percent from 22.307 billion boe in 2008.
Under the more stringent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's methodology, which takes into account reserves extractable during the life of companies' existing licenses, Rosneft's reserves rose to 15.146 billion boe from 14.448 billion boe in 2008.
The reserves audit, performed by DeGolyer and MacNaughton, confirmed that Rosneft was first among public oil companies in terms of oil reserves, under both PRMS and SEC standards.
Rosneft said its hydrocarbon reserve life was 26 years, 23 years for oil and 66 years for gas, under the PRMS rules.
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