Rosneft Starts Geological Exploration In Barents, Pechora Sea

Rosneft has started field works at five license blocks of the Barents and Pechora Seas: West Prinovozemelsky, located in the North-Eastern part of the Barents sea near the Novaya Zemlya archipelago, Perseevsky, located in the North-Western part of the Barents sea, and at the South Russky, South Prinovozemelsky and West Matveevsky license blocks, located in the Pechora Sea.

The following explorations will be conducted at these blocks:
West Prinovozemelsky - 3D seismic exploration with a volume of 2800 sq. km
Perseevsky - 2D seismic exploration with a volume of 6500 sq. km
South Prinovozemelsky - 2D seismic exploration with a volume of 2000 sq. km
West Matveevsky - 2D seismic exploration with a volume of 2000 sq. km

Seismic work will be performed by a specialized research vessel simultaneously with the shipboard gravi magnetometric survey. All work will be performed in three seismic parties.

The seismic survey is a reliable method of exploration of the geological structure of the subsurface and because of high resolution allows establishing a geological model of the studied areas with a high accuracy, increasing the probability of correct assessment of their oil and gas potential.

In addition, complex engineering surveys with the purpose of obtaining information about engineering-geological and engineering-ecological conditions of the sites for two projectable outposts is planned. Drilling is planned for 2016 and 2017.

Rosneft carries out the Geological Exploration Program in the Barents and Pechora seas in strict accordance with the requirements of environmental legislation of the Russian Federation and license agreements. At seismic surveys’ and integrated engineering surveys’ run-time the Program of Ecological Monitoring and Production Control will be implemented. Previously public discussions were conducted; all necessary permissions and approvals of the state bodies were obtained, compensation measures of the potential damage were developed.

Organization of geological surveys on the Barents and Pechora seas shelf is carried out by specialized subsidiary of Rosneft LLC "RN-Shelf-Arctic".