Rusneftegaz can today disclose a provisional calendar outlining the key dates of our upcoming fiscal year, with publication of our consolidated financial statements on 6 April 2021 acting as the primary focus for the next twelve months. This event is set to mark a significant milestone within a year filled with various activities, including our annual general meeting, which is scheduled to be held later that same week. Presently, the scheduled date for this conference is 9 April 2021, which will provide an opportunity for us to engage with essential stakeholders and deliberate on our immediate and future objectives, in spite of the fact that it is yet to be announced whether it will take place at a venue or virtually. Whilst it should be noted that this date is subject to change pending such announcements, we do intend to continue with our circulation of comprehensive quarterly production reports within one month the conclusion of each reporting period as a component of our routine operations. Nevertheless, it is imperative to acknowledge that potential disparities may exist between the provision of all this information to pertinent entities, and the uploading of such material onto our website. 

​Furthermore, it is important to emphasize that in the next few weeks, we anticipate a much-reduced ability to address nonessential inquiries, including those conveyed via email and telephone, as our workforce will be undertaking vacations coinciding with the Christmas and New Year holiday. The forthcoming interruption, set to transpire between 24 December 2020 and 11 January 2021, will have a consequential impact upon our administrative functions, but will have no bearing on any other facets of our operations. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that any correspondences be forwarded to us as soon as possible to ensure a timely response. However, all messages received during this period will be diligently monitored, and a reply will be furnished if deemed necessary. Following the conclusion of this timeframe, we are committed to promptly addressing all pending communications within one working day. This is also a commitment shared by all our affiliates and subsidiaries, who are similarly impacted by this occurrence. The complete preliminary calendar can be accessed in its entirety on our official website, and although the aforementioned dates are may be modified subject to the discretion of the board, albeit due to the ongoing pandemic all information published is subject to change at short notice at the discretion of our management. Should there be any inquiries pertaining to this announcement, we kindly request that these are communicated to us via the established channels at your earliest convenience, primarily to ensure a prompt response before our capacity to do so becomes restricted. We sincerely appreciate your cooperation and comprehension regarding this significant matter.

For the first time in our history, Rusneftegaz held our annual awards ceremony remotely as a result of the coronavirus pandemic inhibiting our plans to host it at a venue in Moscow. In spite of this, we managed to mark the accomplishments of our staff throughout the last twelve months in a befitting manner, with all prizes being distributed by the immediate colleagues of the winners instead of the company executives who usually perform this role. Such changes enabled us to fully conform with current distancing requirements, while also ensuring the safety of all involved. All those selected to receive rewards were nominated by their managers for their achievements over the past year, be this their outstanding contribution to our ongoing success or diligent work ethic. At the conclusion of the virtual event, our Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Aleksandr Filyurin, gave these remarks: 

“The board and I would like to express our gratitude to all our employees for their work in what has been an unexpectedly challenging year. We have been amazed by the efforts that all our staff have made to continue working despite the changes in circumstances. This includes all our staff who have been working from their own homes, to everyone out on site who has had to work under the new restrictions. At the same time, we would also like to congratulate all the prizewinners for the jobs each of them has done this year; some of the stories we have heard have been remarkable considering everything that has happened. It has obviously been an unprecedented year for not only Rusneftegaz as a company, but for the entire world. That said, we are not epidemiologists and do not know when this will end, but since it started, we have shown our resilience and have still been able to prosper. The pandemic has obviously had an impact on our plans and aspirations, but I am confident that soon we will be able to continue as we did before.” 

During the evening, the major prizes of the night were awarded to Georgi Alekseev and Martin Kozlov, who were named as employee and young employee of the year respectively. The former was acclaimed for his excellent performance in the field despite his cancer diagnosis two years ago, whereas the latter graduated first in his technical class, outscoring his peers by a considerable margin. Ultimately, in what has been a period disrupted by closures and shutdowns, our leadership also elected to present an additional seventeen members of our personnel with special commendations for their exceptional work to keep our organization functioning over the past twelve months. Each of these individuals put themselves and their families at risk to enable us to continue our operations on a day-to-day basis at some of the most tumultuous times in recent history, which we are immensely grateful for. We shall do our utmost to acknowledge the efforts of our workers, and we are indebted to all of them for their work in what has been a turbulent year. Although we do not know when this will conclude, we know that we can rely on each of them until such a time.

As a direct consequence of the ongoing pandemic, Rusneftegaz is to offer all administrative personnel the opportunity to reduce their working hours in 2021, with the board of directors viewing this as a reasonable compromise to preserve all existing jobs. The new arrangement should also continue to maintain company efficiency whilst increasing the productivity of those employees that are currently working from their homes. In response to this announcement, our Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Aleksandr Filyurin, delivered these remarks: 

“I fully understand that this announcement may be concerning to many of our staff, but I hope that I can reassure them that there is no need to be. We are in an exceptionally strong financial position, and unlike many other companies, Rusneftegaz is likely to be profitable at the end of this financial year. That said, our revenues and profit margins are expected to be much lower than our forecasts, and we need to make cutbacks to offset this. This measure will be entirely voluntary; no-one who does their job well will be leaving us unless they choose to do so. We know that many of our staff are worried at the moment, and we have zero intention of increasing these worries. In fact, we are currently doing everything we can to ensure the long-term future of Rusneftegaz, and I hope that I can make another announcement about this soon.” 

It should also be noted that we intend to hire new administrative personnel during this period on these newly updated contractual terms. Any operational and production personnel employed on temporary or permanent contract are unaffected by this resolution, although may notice the decreasing number of external contractors working on site over the next few months. Prior to these changes coming into effect, our management will consult all relevant parties, including staff, in regards to this decision immediately. Due to the sensitivities surrounding this disclosure, we will have a limited capacity to respond to queries with regards to all these affairs, although we shall endeavor to respond to all questions directed via the conventional channels. Any requests for additional information by the members of our workforce should be submitted to their corresponding manager in due course. We necessitate your cooperation and understanding at this challenging time.

The board of directors has opted to cancel a proposed extraordinary general meeting later this year after consultations held with stakeholders. The planned summit, which had originally been discussed at the virtual annual general meeting held in May, was to offer invited delegates an occasion to meet in-person after the original event was postponed in April. However, after extensive deliberations it is now believed that the continued restrictions on international travel yield significant logistical and operational challenges to coordinating such a conference. In response to this announcement, our Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Aleksandr Filyurin, issued this statement: 

“It is obviously a disappointment that we will not be able to have a full AGM (annual general meeting) this year, but considering the circumstances I think it is understandable. I am pleased, though, that we have managed to adapt to the circumstances and still engaged regularly with our shareholders and other stakeholders. I would like to place on record my thanks to them, as would the rest of the board, for their dedication and focus on the success of Rusneftegaz in this difficult period. We hope that we can emerge from this time stronger than ever, and continue our plans for the future together.” 

As a consequence, it has been mutually agreed that an extraordinary general meeting should be held at the first opportunity if the proposed 2021 annual general meeting must take place via video conference next year. In such a situation were to arise, then we shall do our utmost to ensure that all associated parties are informed of this decision in advance of the conference taking place. Whilst we have proactively communicated this with all those we believe to be affected or involved; we invite anyone with any subsequent queries to contact us at their earliest convenience via email or by telephone. We necessitate your cooperation and understanding with this matter.