Modernisation of the Russian Energy Sector: Constraints on Utilising Arctic Offshore Oil Resources

This essay is part of the Finnish–Japanese project ‘Russia’s Final Energy Frontier—Sustainability Challenges of the Russian Far North’ (Academy of Finland, Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science, V-P. Tynkkynen/S. Tabata, 2014–2016), and is funded by the Centre of Excellence on ‘Choices of Russian Modernisation’ (Academy of Finland/Kivinen, 2012–2017) and the project ‘Energy Policy in European Integration’ (Academy of Finland/Aalto, 2011–2015). For extensive assistance in compiling and formatting the material I would like to thank Iida Jaakkola, Pallavi Pal and Julia Simpanen, and for commentary, Terry Cox, Markku Kivinen, Andrei V. Belyi and Andrey A. Konoplyanik.

Figures & data

Figure 1. The Structuration of Russia’s Arctic Offshore Oil Projects.

Source: Created by the author.

Table 1 Main Oil Resources in Russia’s Barents, Kara and Pechora Seas.

Field	Resource base	Energy carrier	Main company actors
Pechora Sea	Recoverable potential resources of oil and gas 4.9 billion tonnes
Prirazlomnoe (discovered 1989, commercial production started in 2013)	Recoverable reserves 83.2 million tonnes/72 million tonnes (annual production max. 6.6 million tonnes)	Oil	Gazprom Neft Shelf (license holder) and some 40 international companies
Dolginskoe (discovered 1999, exploratory drilling and well testing 2014)	Recoverable reserves 200 million tonnes of oil equivalent	Oil	Gazpromneft-Sakhalin (license holder), Schlumberger, Weatherford
Peschanoozerski/Kolgiev Island (discovered 1982, commercial production 1987)	Recoverable proved reserves (ABC1) 7.5 million tonnes	Oil	Zarubeshneft/Arcticmorneftegazrazvedka JSC (license holder)
Medyn-more (Medynskoye) (opened/discovered 1997)	Potential oil reserves and resources (geological/recoverable) 700 and 163 million tonnes	Oil	Rosneft (license holder) (Medynsko-Varandeisky)
Pomorskoye	–	Oil and gas condensate	Rosneft (license holder)
Severo-Gulyaevskoye	–	Oil and gas condensate	Rosneft (license holder)
Kara Sea
Rusanovskoe	380.374 million tonnes of potential oil reserves (C3); 119.475 million tonnes of potential recoverable oil (C3); 240.374 billion cubic metres of proved gas (C1), 538.643 billion cubic metres of probable gas (C2), 3.248 trillion cubic meters of potential gas (C3); 4.822 million tonnes of proved condensate (C1), 2.411 million tonnes of proved recoverable condensate (C1), 10.806 million tonnes of probable condensate (C2), 5.403 million tonnes of probably recoverable condensate (C2)	Natural gas, condensate and oil	Gazprom (license holder)
Pobeda (University-1/Universitetskaya-1) (discovery drilling 2014)	1.3 billion tonnes of oil equivalent	Oil	Rosneft (license holder), joint venture of Rosneft and ExxonMobil (operator) (ExxonMobil due to sanctions suspended), Nord Atlantic Drilling, Schlumberger, Halliburton, Weatherford, Baker Hughes, Trendsetter, FMC
Barents Sea	Recoverable potential resources of oil and gas 22.7 billion tonnes	Natural gas, condensate and oil

Sources: Lesikhina et al. (2007, pp. 5, 12–3) (Barents Sea, Pechora Sea and Medyn-more); ‘Prirazlomnoe Oil Field’, Gazprom, available at: http://www.gazprom.com/about/production/projects/deposits/pnm/, accessed 8 October 2015 (Prirazlomnoe); ‘Gazprom Neft Begins Exploratory Drilling at the Dolginskoe Field in the Arctic’, Gazprom, 30 June 2014, available at: http://www.gazprom-neft.com/press-center/news/1102432/, accessed 8 October 2015 (Dolginskoe); ‘Gazprom Poised to Receive Licenses to Ludlovskoe, Rusanovskoe Fields (Part 2)’, Interfax, 12 August 2013, available at: http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=436629, accessed 8 October 2015 (Rusanovskoe); ‘Lukoil to Sell Upstream Assets in Komi, Nenetsk & Perm Areas’, Rigzone, 16 April 2004, available at: http://www.rigzone.com/news/oil_gas/a/12351/Lukoil_to_Sell_Upstream_Assets_in_Komi_Nenetsk_Perm_Areas, accessed 8 October 2015 (Kolgiev); ‘State Commission on Reserves Confirms the Discovery of the Pobeda Field’, Rosneft, 3 December 2013, available at: http://www.rosneft.com/news/today/03122014.html, accessed 8 October 2014 (Pobeda).

Figure 2. Russia’s Barents and Kara Seas.

Source: Adapted from Wikimedia Commons.