The Russian state-owned company Rosneft has confirmed the discovery of an oil field with reserves of 82 million tons in the Pechora Sea, located in the Arctic region.
Rosneft made this discovery through a drilling campaign in the Mendynsko-Varandeysky area. “In the tests, the oil flow was measured with a maximum flow rate of 220 cubic meters per day,” the company stated last week. They also revealed that this is a type of light oil, low in sulfur and with low viscosity.
This oil field has reserves of up to 82 million tons. (Illustrative image)
Rosneft described this discovery as evidence of “the significant oil potential of the Timan-Pechora region.”
According to Russian media, Rosneft holds licenses to control 28 areas offshore in the Arctic, 8 of which are located in the Pechora Sea.
In mid-June, Rosneft announced that they are undertaking the Vostok Oil project in the Arctic – a project they describe as “the only one in the world that can have a stabilizing effect on the oil market.”
According to Rosneft, Vostok is expected to produce approximately 115 million tons of oil annually by 2033. This amount is equivalent to 20% of Russia’s total oil production in 2021.
While Western analysts speculate that Russia lacks the necessary technology to increase oil production, Rosneft disagrees with this viewpoint. “We have the capacity, knowledge, and experience required, and in projects like this, 98% of the technology will be produced in Russia,” said Igor Sechin, the head of Rosneft.
Currently, the Arctic is one of the most sought-after regions for global energy companies. Data from the climate monitoring agency Reclaim Finance (France) indicates that there are up to 599 oil and gas fields rich in resources in the Arctic region, with only about 220 points currently being exploited.
120 major banks globally have invested over $314 billion in developing resource extraction in the Arctic from 2016 to 2020.
