Russia’s Federal Agency for Subsoil Use, or Rosnedra, will auction four hydrocarbon blocks located on the Kara Sea shelf and in the Yamal Nenets region on June 23, 2011, for geological prospecting and hydrocarbon production, at the starting price of 6.871 billion rubles ($240.57 million), Rosnedra said on Monday.
In December 2010, the Russian government entered these four fields in the resource base of the comprehensive plan of liquefied natural gas production on the Yamal Peninsula in the Russian Arctic and in February 2011, instructed Rosnedra to auction the fields off.
The agency plans to auction the offshore Severo-Obsky block in the Kara Sea whose forecast resources, as of January 1, 2002, amounted to 262.7 million metric tons of oil in geological reserves and 53.7 million tons of oil in recoverable resources, 1.164 trillion cubic meters of gas, 218.5 million tons of condensate in geological reserves and 133.2 million tons of condensate in recoverable resources. The initial payment has been set at 634.5 million rubles.
The second block is the offshore Vostochno-Tambeisky block located in the Kara Sea. Its resources, as of January 1, 2001, amounted to 64.1 billion cubic meters of gas under the D1l category and 534.2 billion cubic meters under the D1 category. The volume of condensate amounts to 4.8 million tons under the D1l category (geological reserves) and 3.6 million tons under the D1l category of recoverable reserves, 40.1 million tons under the D1 category of geological reserves and 30.2 million tons under the D1 category of recoverable reserves. The initial payment has been set at 66.7 million rubles.
The agency will also auction two blocks located both in the Yamal Nenets region and in the Kara Sea.
One of the fields includes the Geophysical Oil and Gas Condensate Deposit whose reserves, as of January 1, 2010, comprised geological reserves amounting to 6.382 million tons of oil under the C1 category and 18.05 million tons of oil under the C2 category, recoverable reserves totaling 1.454 million tons of oil under the C1 category and 3.64 million tons of oil under the C2 category. Gas reserves amount to 142.219 billion cubic meters under the C1 category and 69.312 billion cubic meters under the C2 category. Geological reserves of gas condensate are 6.159 million tons under the C1 category, 4.49 million tons under the C2 category, while recoverable reserves are 4.101 million tons under the C1 category and 3.056 million tons under the C2 category. The initial payment has been set at 1.342 billion rubles.
The block, including the Salmanovskoye, or Utrenneye, Oil and Gas Condensate Deposit, is also located both in the Yamal Nenets region and in the Kara Sea. Its reserves, as of January 1, 2010, included geological reserves amounting to 10.029 million tons of oil under the C1 category and 43.085 million tons of oil under the C2 category, recoverable reserves totaling 2.006 million tons of oil under the C1 category and 8.617 million tons of oil under the C2 category. Gas reserves amount to 482.786 billion cubic meters under the C1 category and 284.288 billion cubic meters under the C2 category. Geological reserves of gas condensate are 16.917 million tons under the C1 category, 13.575 million tons under the C2 category, while recoverable reserves are 12.998 million tons under the C1 category and 10.449 million tons under the C2 category. The initial payment has been set at 4.828 billion rubles.
Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko earlier said the ministry expected that the annual oil output on the Russian continental shelf would hit 34.2 million tons by 2025, while annual gas output was expected to hit 216 billion cubic meters.
The initial overall recoverable resources of hydrocarbons of the Russian continental shelf are 90.3 billion tons of oil equivalent, including 16.5 billion tons of oil and condensate and 73.8 trillion cubic meters of gas. The lion’s share of the resources, about 70%, is located on the Barents, Pechora and Kara Sea shelves.
MOSCOW, March 14 (RIA Novosti)