Rosneft asks to postpone activity on 12 Arctic licences
The state-owned company requests permission for 2-year extended license terms in 12 offshore Arctic projects.
In a letter to the Russian Mineral Agency (Rosnedra), Rosneft requests permission to postpone exploration activities in 12 Arctic licenses. The reason is the pull-out of foreign partners and the consequent problems with getting the necessary project investments, RIA Novostireports with reference to Vedomosti.
The license areas in question are located in the Barents Sea, Pechora Sea, Sea of Okhotsk and East-Siberian Sea. The extension requested is between 1,5 and 2 years.
Rosneft has a total of 48 licenses on the Russian shelf, most of them acquired over the last two years. License area resources are preliminary estimated to as much as 41,8 billion tons oil equivalents.
Reportedly, Rosnedra started to assess the request in January, but has not yet reached a conclusion.
Also other Russian oil companies are applying for license adjustments. According to Vedomosti, Gazprom Neft, Surgutneftegaz, Bashneft and Tatneft have approached the Kremlin with requests to introduce a moratorium on the companies’ license obligations.
Rosneft has foreign partners, among them ExxonMobil, Eni and Statoil, in a number major Arctic offshore projects, and is hit hard by the Western sanction regime. As previously reported, the company has already informed the authorities that it will follow up the University-1 (“Pobeda”) field in the Kara Sea with originally planned well drillings in 2015.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Canada ponders exceptions to relief well rule for Arctic oil drilling, Alaska Dispatch
Finland: Solar and wind power yield cheapest energy say Finnish experts, Yle News
Greenland: #SavetheArctic… from Greenpeace, Blog by Heather Exner-Pirot
Iceland: From Arctic Circle 2013-2014, a big drop in the price of oil, Blog by Mia Bennett
Norway: ‘Norway’s oil exports plunge to half, Barents Observer
Russia: U.S. companies bid for contracts in Arctic Russia, Barents Observer
United States: Arctic standards won’t be ready for Shell’s return, Alaska Dispatch
