Rosneft kicks off seismic surveys in Barents and Pechora Seas

Rosneft has started field works at five license blocks of the Barents and Pechora Seas: East 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 explorations will be conducted on the following 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 specialised research vessel simultaneously with the shipboard gravi magnetometric survey.

The seismic survey is a reliable method of exploration of the geological structure of the subsurface where the 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 are planned. Their purpose is to obtain the information about engineering-geological and engineering-ecological conditions of the sites for two projectable outposts. Drilling is scheduled for 2016 and 2017.

Rosneft is carrying 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. Public discussions were previously conducted; all necessary permissions and approvals of the state bodies were obtained, and compensation measures for the potential damage were developed.

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

Press Release, June 30, 2014