Russia looks at resources in disputed waters
Russia will by year 2050 spend up to 12 trillion RUB on hydrocarbon field development in disputed waters, Head of oil company Rosneft said in last Fridays Marine Board.
Among Russia’s disputed waters is the 175,000 square meter zone in the Barents Sea. In addition, Russia has unsettled borders in the Okhotsk Sea, in the Black Sea with Georgia and Ukraine, in the Caspian Sea and with the USA in the Far East, Rosneft CEO Sergey Bogdanchikov said in the meeting.
The Marine Board meeting took place in the premises of state-owned oil company Rosneft.
Shelf reserves
Mr. Bogdanchikov maintained that Russia by 2050 will invest more than 60 trillion RUB in shelf development, of which 45 trillion will be spent on field development and 16 trillion on exploration. Another 10-12 trillion RUB will be invested in the country’s disputed waters, the oil company leader said in a press release.
According to Mr. Bogdanchikov, the total resource potential of Russia’s “problematic shelf zones” is estimated to 13,5-14 billion tons of oil equivalents. Annual production in the period 2030-2050 is believed to be 80-90 million tons of oil equivalents, he said.
Meanwhile, the Rosneft leader estimates the resource potential of the Russian Barents Sea to 7 billion tons of oil equivalents, and possible annual production to 20 million tons.
New focus on the shelf
What appears as an increasing Russian interest in shelf development comes as Gazprom has started preparations for the Shtokman project in the Barents Sea, and as company major Gazprom and Rosneft have got the government’s blessing for a monopoly position in the Arctic.
During the Marine Board meeting, First Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Ivanov highlighted the need for an enhanced focus on the Russian shelf, and underlined the need for the delineation of disputed waters, especially with regard to the Arctic shelf.
He also underlined the political importance of the shelf.
-Without doubt, the exploration and development of hydrocarbons and valuable minerals in new areas is very important. However, the political aspects are no less important, Mr. Ivanov said
Read Rosneft’s press release on the Marine Board meeting here
Read also:
”Russia to stick to the rules on Arctic shelf” BarentsObserver, 18 April
Russia gives shelf to state companies BarentsObserver, 17 April
