On June 4th Rosneft got licenses for Albanovsky and Varneksky areas at the Barents Sea shelf, handed over to the company according to the government decree signed in May this year. The term of both licenses is 30 years.

Oil Company Rosneft got licenses for Albanovsky and Varneksky areas of federal importance at the Barents Sea shelf by May 30th 2043. The onetime payment for Albanovsky area is 454.577 mln rubles, for Varneksky – 976.764 mln rubles.

The licenses stipulate a number of requirements. So, for Varneksky area Rosneft shall during three years from the registering date perform 2D seismic survey in the amount not less than 3000 line kilometers. During four years the company shall perform 3D seismic survey in the amount not less than 3000 km2.  The first prospecting and appraisal well shall be constructed during six years.

Albanovsky area requires 2D seismic survey of not less than 10000 line kilometers during four years. Not later than after 5 years there shall be performed 3D seismic survey in the amount of 3000 km2. After nine years there shall be two prospecting and appraisal wells there.

On May 23rd Dmitry Medvedev, the Head of the Russian Government, signed the decree according to which Rosneft got the rights for Albanovsky and Varneksky areas for geological survey, hydrocarbon prospecting and extraction. Gazprom got three offshore areas – Morskoy, Nyarmeysky and Skuratovsky.

The forecasts for Albanovsky area for January 1st 2009 make up category D2: oil – 144.2 mln tons (geological resources), 43.3 mln tons (recoverable resources); gas – 1.254 bln m3; condensate – 43.3 mln tons (geological resources), 30.3 mln tons (recoverable).

The forecasted resources of oil for Varneksky area according to category 2D for January 1st 2009 are evaluated to be 2.081 bln tons (geological resources), 542 mln tons (recoverable resources).

Source: www.oilcapital.ru