Russia's Salym sees oil output declining in 2-3 yrs

MOSCOW Oct 14 (Reuters) - Salym Petroleum Development, a Russian oil joint venture between Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) and Sibir Energy, expects its crude production to plateau within the next two to three years before starting to decline.

"We want to use this period of maximum production ... to prepare ourselves for the decline period," Simon Durkin, chief executive of Salym Petroleum Development, told reporters on Wednesday.

SPD, which produces oil in Siberia, is owned 50 percent each by Shell and Sibir. In April, Sibir said crude oil production at Salym's fields exceeded 160,000 barrels per day, setting a record for the company.

Since then, majority ownership of Sibir has passed to Gazprom Neft (SIBN.MM), the oil arm of Russian gas giant Gazprom (GAZP.MM). Last month, Gazprom Neft filed a request to Russia's anti-trust watchdog to buy 100 percent of Sibir. [ID:nLP501500] (Reporting by Katya Golubkova; Writing by Vladimir Soldatkin)