Rosneft prepares seismic mapping of east Arctic waters

In this photo provided by the Rosneft company, West Alfa drilling platform is seen anchored at the Cara Sea some 250 km (156 miles) north off Russian shore, on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2014. AP Photo/Rosneft press service
In this photo provided by the Rosneft company, West Alfa drilling platform is seen anchored at the Cara Sea some 250 km (156 miles) north off Russian shore, on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2014. AP Photo/Rosneft press service
The exploration of the company’s licenses in the Laptev and East Siberian Seas will start this summer, regional authorities say.

The seismic testing will cover the license areas of Anisinskoye-Novosibirskoye, Ust-Lenskoye and Ust-Olenekskoye, Deputy Head of the Yakutia government Pavel Marinychev told Interfax news agency.

Public hearings on the operations will be held throughout April and the seismic mapping will start in summer, the regional official said.

Because of the shallow waters in the area, Rosneft intends to conduct the mapping at a distance of 12 nautical mile from the coast. The operations will stretch over a five-year period, Interfax reports.

Rosneft holds more than 50 offshore Arctic licenses, several of them located in the remotest part of the Arctic.

As previously reported, Rosneft is also in the process of preparing exploration of licenses in the northern Barents Sea. At a recent public hearing in Arkhangelsk, the oil company presented its plans for exploration on three oil and gas fields it had acquired licenses to in 2013 – Albanovsky, Varneksky and West-Prinovozemelsky. The three fields are all located in the Arctic Ocean at between 74 and 80°N. The area is covered in ice more than half of the year

In October 2014, the company completed it first offshore Arctic well drilling. That revealed major hydrocarbon resources in the field which later got the name «Pobeda». The structure is located in the central parts of the Kara Sea.

The well was drilled in cooperation with project partner ExxonMobile, and a string of international service companies among them the Nord Atlantic Drilling, Schlumberger, Halliburton, Weatherford, Baker, Trendsetter and FMC.

Related stories from around the North:

Canada: Canada’s Supreme Court agrees to hear Arctic seismic testing case opposed by Inuit, Eye on the Arctic

Finland:  Chinese energy giant plans €1bn biofuel plant in northern Finland, Yle News

Norway: OMV finds more oil in Barents Sea, The Independent Barents Observer

Sweden:  Will Sweden be able to produce enough energy in the future?, Radio Sweden

United States: Obama, Trudeau announce plans to fight Arctic oil and gas pollution; Alaskans criticize lack of input, Alaska Dispatch News

Atle Staalesen, The Independent Barents Observer

For more news from the Barents region visit The Independent Barents Observer.

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