New Russian oil fields along Barents ice edge
Gazprom Neft gets a 83,000 square kilometer oil license area in the northern part of the Barents Sea.
As oil prices plummet and oil companies increasingly turn away from complicated and expensive Arctic projects, Gazprom Neft keeps up a high focus on the north.
The company, a subsidiary of Gazprom, now confirms that it has got the license to the Kheysovskoye, a structure located to the west of the Novaya Zemlya about 1000 km from the mainland. Climatic conditions are complicated and Arctic ice can stay near the area all through the year, Gazprom Neft informs in a press release.
Preliminary estimates show that the structure holds about 140 million tons of oil and 2 trillion cubic meters of gas, the company says.
The license area is located near the Perseevskoye structure, the area where Rosneft and Statoil have a cooperation agreement.
Pechora Sea
Along with the Kheysovskoye, Gazprom Neft wins also the license to the Severo-Zapadnoye structure in the Pechora Sea.
Gazprom Neft operates the Prirazlomnoye field in the Pechora Sea and in 2014 conducted exploration drilling at the nearby Dolginskoye field.
Also neighboring Norway is moving it oil industries increasingly further north. In its upcoming 23rd License Round, the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy intends to offer a total of 61 licenses in northern waters. Among the new licenses will be four blocks located at 73 degrees north, on the latude of the Bear Island and the Svalbard Fisheries Protection Zone.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Will Russia’s actions in Ukraine affect relations in the Arctic Council?, Eye on the Arctic
Finland: Solar and wind power yield cheapest energy say Finnish experts, Yle News
Greenland: Arctic oil and gas must stay in ground to restrict warming to 2°C says study, Blog by Mia Bennett, Cryopolitics
Iceland: From Arctic Circle 2013-2014, a big drop in the price of oil, Blog by Mia Bennett
Norway: Currency drama has little impact on tourism in Barents region, Barents Observer
Russia: Gazprom Neft meets production level at Prirazlomnoye oil field, Barents Observer
Sweden: Lower electricity bills for Swedes, Radio Sweden
United States: Oil prices expected to stay low through 2016, Alaska Dispatch News
