Russia’s Rosneft has found an oil field in the Khatanga Bay of the Laptev Sea, in what is considered to be the northernmost exploratory well on the Eastern Arctic shelf.
The company on Sunday said that during the drilling of the Tsentralno-Olginskaya-1 well from the shore of the Khara-Tumus Peninsula on the shelf of the Khatanga Bay, three core samples were taken from depths of 2305 to 2363 m, which showed high oil saturation dominated with light oily fractions.
“On the basis of primary studies already, it can be concluded that a new oil field has been discovered, the volume of the resource potential of which is increasing as the drilling continues. Core sampling continues at the moment,” Rosneft said.
The company further said that the obtained result of the drilling at the Khatanga licensed area “allows Rosneft to be considered a pioneer of deposit discoveries on the Eastern Arctic shelf.”
The company was awarded the license for Khatanga development in November 2015.
On April 3, at the Russian president Vladimir Putin’s command Rosneft embarked on drilling of the Tsentralno-Olginskaya-1 well. The significance of Rosneft project was emphasised by the Russian president during a video conference on the drilling start.
“In fact, work on the whole petroleum province has been started, which, even according to preliminary data, contains millions of tons of oil equivalent. Horizontal drilling is a complex and high-tech operation. This is just the first well. There is much more work ahead. I would like to wish you good luck and I hope for this undertaking’s success,” Rosneft cited Putin as saying.