Lukoil could receive rights to use Nadezhda block in Baltic Sea before end of 2026 - ministry
MOSCOW. Aug 25 (Interfax) - The Nadezhda hydrocarbon block in Baltic Sea could be transferred to Lukoil to begin using by the end of this year, the press service of the Russian Natural Resources and Environment Ministry told journalists.
"A draft decree is currently being prepared to transfer the rights of use for the subsoil area of federal significance. The Nadezhda block could be transferred by the end of this year," the ministry said.
On June 1, 2026, the Nadezhda block was added to a special list of subsoil areas of federal significance available for use without an auction. This list is approved by the government, as are decisions on applications. Lukoil-Kaliningradmorneft submitted an application to conduct geological surveys at Nadezhda during the so-called "summer window" from June 1 to July 31.
As reported, Lukoil has been seeking a license for this block since 2016. The oil company has also proposed an auction to the government for the Nadezhda block, which is of federal significance, with special requirements, namely that a bidder must be registered in the Kaliningrad Region and have experience developing fields in the region. The Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS) deemed that only Lukoil met the proposed requirements, and the auction was ultimately never held. Subsequently, resolution No. 1424, dated September 2020, which determines the procedure for reviewing applications for these blocks and blocks in inland marine waters, cleared the way for the company to obtain a geological exploration license. However, in October 2022, the government denied Lukoil the license for the block. In 2023, the procedure for allocating federal subsoil blocks for hydrocarbons in the internal waters and territorial seas of Russia changed, with auctions now being held for these blocks when two or more applications are submitted. During the summer application window from June 1 to July 31, 2023, Lukoil-Kaliningradmorneft submitted a proposal to include the Nadezhda area in the list of federal subsoil blocks located in the territorial sea available for use by companies. The government returned the documents and requested that the company update its environmental research program, as the 2021 program was attached to the materials.
Lukoil has been producing in the Baltic Sea since 2004, when it commissioned its first offshore field, Kravtsovskoye, with recoverable reserves of 9.1 million tonnes, currently accounting for over half of Lukoil-Kaliningradmorneft's oil production, which totals approximately 500,000 tonnes of oil per year. In May 2019, the oil company began the industrial use of two wells at the offshore D41 field with recoverable reserves of 2 million tonnes. The priority project is currently D33, where the company plans to produce 1.5-1.8 million tonnes of oil per year.
