According to news from foreign media on December 14, the Russian National Reserve Committee has recognized that Rosneft has discovered an Arctic gas field in the Kara Sea and recommended that the Russian Federation Geological Foundation (RosGeolFond) include the gas field in the national registration. The company estimates that the gas field has reserves of 800 billion cubic meters.

The oil field was discovered after exploratory drilling on the Vikulovskaya structure in the East-Prinovozemelsky-1 permit area. The depth of the well is 1621 meters. Rosneft will arrange exploration and drilling in two licensed areas in the Kara Sea in 2020. The drilling is part of Rosneft’s comprehensive plan to develop the oil and gas potential of the region.

In total, more than 30 expected structures have been identified in the 3 East-Prinovozemelsky blocks in the Kara Sea. Rosneft’s drilling results in the Kara Sea show that the above-mentioned structure has high oil and gas potential, which proves the discovery of a new oil province in the Kara Sea. In terms of resources, it may surpass oil and gas provinces such as the Gulf of Mexico, the Brazilian shelf, the Arctic shelf of Alaska and Canada, and the major provinces in the Middle East.

Experts from the TomskNIPIneft Research Institute conducted research on the physical and chemical properties and composition of crude oil obtained from the Universitetskaya-1 well. This ultra-light crude oil surpasses Brent crude oil, Siberian light crude oil and West Texas Intermediate oil in key indicators (gravity and sulfur content), and its performance is comparable to crude oil from the Baihu Oilfield offshore Vietnam.