Rusneftegaz can announce that we are to continue with our research and development program for a further five years, with the latest version commencing immediately and due to expire in 2029. The new plan replaces its previous iteration, which concluded at the end of last year, albeit with many projects incomplete as a direct consequence of the coronavirus pandemic and its aftermath. However, our executive leadership has resolved that the scope of such undertakings is to remain unchanged, with our priorities remaining focused upon ventures that could be lucrative for our organization in the long term. Chief amongst these are our schemes to reduce emissions and fuel consumption in our power generation unit in conjunction with our work in the realm of hydrogen production. Both such endeavors are viewed as critical to the future of our corporation, with our management seeking to maximize our options should an energy transition take place, conceivably within the next few decades. Whilst there are no executives in our enterprise who view this as a probable scenario, the collective view of our board is that it is essential to hedge the success of our existing operations against any developments that may undermine our achievements. In response to the publication of this new strategy, our Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Aleksandr Filyurin, issued the following remarks:   

“Firstly, it is necessary for the board and I to put on record our thanks to all the research and development staff that have done some great work over the last five years. They have at times been working under extremely challenging conditions, much like all our other staff were during the pandemic and the difficult times that followed afterward. Ultimately, what we have faced during the past five years has not only helped us build resilience but strengthened this company and made it better because of it. As we continue business as usual, it is important to refocus and double our efforts. Obviously, the fact that our strategic review is still ongoing has somewhat inhibited the decisions that we could make in this cycle. When we have decided the exact direction that Rusneftegaz is going to take over the next few years, we don’t want to be committed to projects that are going to potentially be of no use to us down the line. It is no secret that our trading division is now the largest and most financially important part of our business, and to be honest again, we don’t need an enormous R&D budget to remain competitive. Things have changed a lot here since 2020, not just around the world but internally too, and we have adjusted to that. However, there is every reason to be optimistic about the future of this great company, and I am proud to say that I work here.”  

The cornerstone of our research and development program continues to be the education and training of our workforce, who remain vital to the success of all our operations. Not only does this include providing ample opportunities for personal progression, but it also entails ensuring that all our personnel can work with state-of-the-art equipment and technologies. Our organization is continually investigating the current best practices to appraise if these advancements should be incorporated into our own ways of operating, regardless of whether the functions are technical or purely administrative. In recent times, this has involved analyzing the suitability of artificial intelligence for each of the production units, in addition to examining the most effective ways of mitigating viral contagion in enclosed spaces. Such work is not only crucial to our progress as an enterprise, but it is also paramount for easing the workload of our employees and contractors, allowing for greater productivity as a result. Studying the latest improvements and upgrades for the apparatus we deploy in the field similarly remains essential in facilitating increases in efficiency, with Rusneftegaz having invested hundreds of millions of dollars over the past decade to modernize each sector of our company. This has been most evident in our power engineering division, with electricity now generated more cleanly, effectively and safely than ever before in our corporate history. 

In congruence with these plans, Rusneftegaz also intends to continue collaborating on research programs with a plethora of institutions and universities, as we have done so for the past two decades. Throughout this time we have contributed to various studies, particularly geological and seismological surveys, as a consequence of which we have built several beneficial partnerships with local and international entities. While such endeavors have undoubtedly been fruitful, our board has ultimately decided that it is in the best interest of the corporation to limit the volume of non-academic proposals pursued in this revision. Despite the fact that there are a range of reasons for this decision, the foremost justification for such action is that the ongoing strategic review of our current operations means that our business may be radically redefined. Our executive leadership is wholly convinced that a broad, overarching strategy is currently inappropriate, and this plan must instead be adapted if necessary once the outcomes of this comprehensive audit are disclosed. Consequently, no new projects are to be funded in this R&D cycle, and in certain cases financing will be restricted for existing works. For instance, it has been mutually agreed between our researchers and managers that our intention to build modular power plants across the globe is implausible before 2030 at the earliest, and thus the scheme can go on hiatus for the foreseeable future.  

Likewise, plans to construct our own equipment and apparatus have been cancelled entirely, although no corresponding investments were made for this during the last five-year period due to the coronavirus pandemic. Conversely, the first blueprints for a major research hub were drawn and staff tasked with locating a suitable site, but progress on this has been sluggish, and the notion has now been abandoned. All such programs are to remain within the jurisdiction of their respective production units, with only administrative functions remaining under centralized control and otherwise retaining broad oversight of all these affairs. Whilst there are to be no structural or financial changes to our ongoing work regarding catalytic reformation and electrolysis, which our management believes is imperative for the long-term growth of this enterprise, a proposal to establish prizes for advancements in the energy sector has been delayed and will return at a later date. As previously discussed, this development strategy may be revised upon the completion of the strategic review that is due to be completed imminently and published at our annual general meeting in April. However, our board of directors is erstwhile in its belief that all the expenditure on training and education will be more than sufficient to meet the needs of our organization for the next five years, while simultaneously ensuring Rusneftegaz remains a modern, dynamic and innovative company. Any updates or revisions to this will be notified in due course, and any relevant inquiries must be directed via the conventional channels. We necessitate your cooperation and understanding with this pertinent matter. 

Rusneftegaz can today publish the latest incarnation of our website, which has been radically revised to improve the user experience of the site and offer additional information pertaining to our corporation and its commercial operations. The changes, which have gone live with immediate effect, have resulted in a substantial redesign of each of our webpages in a more minimalist style, primarily to suit a more modern aesthetic. This initiative, which was instigated at the behest of the staff at our international office, should also be a significant upgrade to the mobile edition of the website and the speed at which both it and the main desktop version load. While this is unquestionably a major enhancement over all prior renderings, it must be noted that this has not been at the expense of the content we issue. Hence, none of our preexisting features have been removed to facilitate these improvements, ensuring that all relevant maps, images, and tables have been retained for later use. In fact, this update has yielded a notable amount of new resources being added, mostly related to career opportunities with us and further details regarding our corporate structure. As before, we shall endeavor to provide routine updates via the news section, which maintains an extensive archive of all our affairs over the course of the past decade. We believe that this, in conjunction with all the other materials we have disclosed, actively demonstrates our enduring commitment to trading in an orderly and transparent manner. Following this transformation in our online presence, our Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Aleksandr Filyurin, commented:    

“As a growing and ambitious company, Rusneftegaz is always looking to hire the best candidates for the job and looking for new partners to work with, so it is always very important to make a good first impression in this business. Using this principle, a good website is very important for a company of our stature. I have been very impressed by the work done by my colleagues in the technology department; they understand these principles in their entirety. What makes it an even greater achievement is that Kuznetsov implemented this himself; he was proactive and did all this work alongside the regular demands of his job. I am very proud of him. It is men like him that make this such a great company.” 

​The new site has been designed and built internally by our Director of Information Technology, Mikhail Kuznetsov, who created the previous iteration of this website five years ago. To do this, he utilized the architecture of the earlier rendition to ensure that the modifications only took six weeks to implement from project commencement to completion. Once again, he will bear responsibility for the ongoing management and maintenance of this, and all associated matters, on a permanent basis for the foreseeable future. However, although this modernization has undoubtedly been a considerable improvement to our online identity, we can also simultaneously disclose that we are currently forming plans to work with a third party to develop a new site in the months ahead. Our leadership has been contemplating this proposal for some time, and now believes that it is in our long-term interests to establish a platform that illustrates our continued success. Whilst an announcement as to which firm we have opted to partner with will be forthcoming at the pertinent time, we will work diligently regardless to guarantee that this website remains the best resource available with respect to Rusneftegaz and our activities. Any queries about these amendments, or any other questions referring to our enterprise and its digital media, should be directed via the usual channels if necessary.

Rusneftegaz can confirm that we have issued a full preliminary calendar for the 2025 fiscal year, with the most significant event set to be the disclosure of our consolidated financial statements on 1 April. This shall occur three days before our annual general meeting, where our executive leadership will convene with our key stakeholders to discuss the economic prospects for our corporation and approve any strategic decisions that may be implemented over the duration of the next year. Nonetheless, it should be noted that the board may also opt to host an extraordinary general meeting in the spring or summer following the completion of the review of our business structure, which was disclosed by our management at the end of September. If this were to happen, all prospective attendees would be notified accordingly at least sixty days prior to enable proxy or absentee ballots to be processed. Beyond this, the next twelve months are expected to progress as anticipated, with our company continuing to publish our production data four weeks after the conclusion of each quarter. All of these dates for the next year have been published in their entirety on our official website, but may be subject to change. However, our directors do not anticipate any major alterations to the timing of these events in the immediate future, and any potential modifications will be announced if deemed necessary. 

As our 25th anniversary celebrations draw to a close, it should be considered that we will be unable to respond to any inquiries in the midst of the festive period as a result of the increased number of staff vacations during the Christmas season. Consequently, we politely request to any of those of whom that may be affected by this to contact us as soon as it is practical to do so. Otherwise, a prompt reply may not be received before the New Year holidays end, and whilst all our communication channels will be monitored in this timeframe for any urgent communications, it will not be a priority for our enterprise to resolve any correspondences submitted after 24 December 2024. Subsequently, our organization will then return to full administrative capacity on 9 January 2025, and we will address all outstanding messages within one working day. This also includes all our partners, subsidiaries and affiliates, each of whom is similarly impacted by these events. However, it must be noted that all of our other commercial activities will continue as normal throughout this time, including all aspects of our production and trading programs, which shall be entirely unaffected. Considering the information contained in this bulletin, any questions pertaining to this announcement must be directed either via email or telephone without delay. We necessitate your cooperation and understanding in relation to this pressing matter.

Rusneftegaz marked the conclusion of our 25th anniversary year at an event on 22 November, where we acknowledged the achievements of our staff during what has been an outstanding twelve months for the company. Attendees at the dinner in Moscow included all the members of our board of directors, a number of our key stakeholders and a selection of other delegates. This was not limited to, but comprised of, various managers and senior personnel who have served us throughout the timeframe. Collectively, the entire contingent commemorated what has been a phenomenal period for our corporation, in which not only did we pass a key milestone in our corporate history, but also reported the highest revenue total from our operations. Whilst both of these are great accomplishments, perhaps the even greater accomplishment is that we are set to surpass this figure in our financial reporting next year, thus recording record turnover in consecutive years. At the end of the ceremony, our Deputy Chief Executive Officer, gave the following remarks:

“I would like to pay tribute to all of those who have won awards this evening, they have made an invaluable contribution to the progress of Rusneftegaz over the past year and some of them have done a truly fantastic job. I would also like to pay tribute to everyone else who has also worked for us this year, so many of our staff work so hard every day to make this company a success, and we are very grateful that they are working for us and not anyone else. To be honest, it has been an amazing year for us. Not only have we celebrated our 25th anniversary, but our business itself continues to go from strength-to-strength. At the end of the day, not many companies get to mark anniversaries like this, so it is definitely a major achievement, one that we should all be proud of. We are a company that is still going strong after twenty-five years now, and I think is more than fit enough for the next twenty-five.” 

On the night itself, the two major prizes of the evening were awarded to Anton Kirilov and Matvei Sechenov, who were named as Employee and Young Employee of the Year respectively. The former was instrumental in establishing our agrochemical trading business by producing voluminous research far beyond the expectations of his peers, while the latter became the youngest member of our workforce to oversee the monthly maintenance checks at one of our production sites in the Komi Republic. The immense contribution made these two individuals, in conjunction with the eleven other recipients of special commendations this year, are just some of the reasons why our organization has reason for optimism for the next twelve months. In addition to the aforementioned expansion of our fertilizer operations, which should come to full fruition within the next few weeks, the review into our corporate structure is also set to be finalized before our annual general meeting. If the proposed changes are approved, there will be announcements regarding any potential developments in due course. Ultimately, this could be a transformational period for our enterprise, and we remain grateful to all of our personnel who continue to work diligently for our success regardless of what may occur in the year ahead.