Russ Oil-Gas

MOSCOW, June 16 (RIA Novosti) - Russian energy giant Gazprom intends to invest between 8 and 10 trillion rubles ($338-422 billion) in a range of projects between 2009 and 2020, a company spokesman said on Monday. "According to our forecasts, investment will be between eight and ten trillion rubles by 2020, and annual investment is estimated at some 700 billion rubles," Sergei Pankratov, the head of Gazprom's further development department, said during a briefing. He said most of the funds would be invested in transportation projects. He also said that no more than 30% of the sum would be invested in production. Up until 2013, new projects related to development on the Yamal Peninsula in northwest Siberia, which holds Russia's largest natural gas reserves, and on the continental shelf, will be the main target for investment, the official said. The company plans to increase its annual natural gas output by 100 billion cubic meters by 2020 via its new projects, which are expected to account for about a half of Gazprom's gas production by that time. The company produced 548.6 billion cubic meters of gas in 2007, and expects a 2.3% rise this year.