Rosneft might have made a major discovery in the Pechora Sea
The Medynsko-Varandeyskoye license is believed to hold as much as 410 million tons of oil.
According to Interfax, the state company in the period 2020-2021 drilled an exploration well in the license area located along the southeastern coast of the Pechora Sea.
The drilling of the well named Madachagskaya-2 reportedly proved the “existence of industrial resources of oil,” information obtained from Rosneft shows.
Further exploration of the well is now under planning. That includes also the drilling of an additional well, Interfax reports.
The upcoming well is expected to be conducted in the period 2023-2024.
Rosneft is believed to have drilled a first well - the Madachagskaya-1 - in the area in 2017.
Project information indicates that the well drilling is conducted horizontally from the Pesyakov Island, the small piece of land along the Pechora Sea coast. Nearby is Varandey, the site of Lukoil’s oil terminal.
The license area is located closely also to the Prirazlomnoye, the offshore oil field that has been in production since 2013.
Waters in the Pechora Sea are shallow and in the area of the license area — only between 10-19 meters.
The license was originally controlled by Arktikshelfneftegaz, the Murmansk-based company that ultimately was acquired by Rosneft. It is today called RN-Shelf-Arktika.
Reportedly, Rosneft negotiated with Chinese state oil company CNPC about joint development of the resources in the Pechora Sea. However, the Chinese company saw too many risks in the projects, Interfax informs.
Rosneft controls a total of 28 offshore licenses in the Arctic, eight of them in the Pechora Sea.
