Gazprom Neft Announces New Hydrocarbon Discovery In Western Pacific

Gazprom Neft has found a new hydrocarbon field on the continental shelf of the Okhotsk Sea in the Pacific Ocean, according to a report by World Oil.

Early estimates say the field could hold up to 255 million tons of oil equivalent hydrocarbons, but further details will be published in a report due mid-2018.

“The development of Gazprom Neft’s offshore assets remains a strategic priority for the company,” said CEO Alexander Dyukov. “We continue the development and exploration of all offshore license blocks in our portfolio. The discovery of a major field in the Okhotsk Sea proves the relevance of our experience and allows us to reassess prospects for developing offshore projects.”

Dyukov also announced on Thursday that his company expected oil production during 2017 to be lower than in 2016 as the government-owned company supports OPEC-led efforts to rebalance global markets.

Rosneft and Gazprom Neft are the only companies eligible to drill in the Russian areas of the Arctic Ocean. May figures from Gazprom Neft show total cumulative production from the Novoportovskoye field in the Arctic Circle at 5 million tons, or roughly 35 million barrels, since commercial drilling began in 2014.

Apart from the Novoportovskoye field, Gazprom Neft is operating the Prirazlomnoye oil field, Russia’s first Arctic oil project. Recoverable reserves at Prirazlomnoye are estimated at 540 million barrels of crude, and the peak of production is set to be reached in 2020, at 110,000 barrels per day.

Earlier this year, Gazprom Neft reported a net profit of $3.459 billion (200 billion rubles) for 2016, an 82.5-percent annual surge, due to development of its strategic projects and a rise in Arctic production. The Russian gas major faces severe financial sanctions from the United States and the European Union since Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.

By Zainab Calcuttawala for Oilprice.com

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