Rosneft strikes oil in the Arctic

MOSCOW, June 19, 2017 – Rosneft, the world’s premier listed oil company by output, said on Sunday it had discovered its first Arctic oilfield.

“During the drilling of the Tsentralno-Olginskaya-1 well from the shore of the Khara-Tumus Peninsula on the shelf of the Khatanga Bay of the Laptev Sea, three core samples were taken from depths of 2305 to 2363 m, which showed high oil saturation dominated with light oily fractions,” the company said in a statement.

“On the basis of primary studies already, it can be concluded that a new oil field has been discovered, the volume of the resource potential of which is increasing as the drilling continues.”

Rosneft, which owns 28 licences in the Arctic offshore, was awarded the Khatanga Block in the Eastern Arctic in late 2015.

News of the find came after the company said last week that it was planning to invest about USD 8.5 billion in offshore development in the next five years, USD 4.41 billion of which is earmarked for drilling in the Arctic.

Russia’s only functioning Arctic oilfield so far, in the Pectoral Sea, is operated by Gazprom Neft.

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