Taas-Yuryakh might up reserves of Srednebotuobinskoye field by 10 mln tonnes
MOSCOW. Aug 27 (Interfax) - LLC Taas-Yuryakh Neftegazdobycha, a subsidiary of state oil major Rosneft , has obtained a commercial flow of oil from prospective deposits of the Arylakh horizon, the company said in a statement.
The flow was obtained following the completion of drilling of the 110-R exploration well at the Srednebotuobinskoye field. Rosneft is holding negotiations with the United Arab Emirates' Mubadala Petroleum about cooperation on this field.
The increase in C1+C2 category reserves will be more than 10 million tonnes of oil, Rosneft said, citing a preliminary estimate. Based on the results of exploration work and testing of production wells in 2015-2016, the company will clarify the amount of reserves and book them in the state register of reserves.
"For a long time, standard approaches to interpreting geophysical well data prevented designation of the Arylakhsky horizon as promising. The Terrigenous deposits of Eastern Siberia have a number of distinguishing characteristics: anomalously low temperatures (10-15 degrees Celsius), anomalously high mineralization of deposit water (up to 400 grams/liter) and the presence of salts in pore space. Under these circumstances, use of up-to-date methods and supplementary analysis of the geological and geophysical information broadens the outlook for increasing the region's resource base," the statement says.
Taas-Yuryakh Neftegazdobycha is developing the Tsentralny block and the Kurungsky license section of the Srednebotuobinskoye oil and gas condensate field in Yakutia.
Srednebotuobinskoye is one of Rosneft's three biggest assets in the Eastern Siberia oil cluster. Recoverable ABC1+C2 reserves total 167 million tonnes of oil and condensate and 181 billion cubic meters of gas. The field development plans stipulate a production plateau of 5 million tonnes a year.
Rosneft is in talks with Cayman Islands-registered Skyland Petroleum Group (SPG) on sale of a stake in Taas-Yuryakh Neftegazdobycha. Skyland may buy from 10% to 29% of shares. A 29% stake is worth $1.1 billion, Skyland founder and president David Robson said previously.
Rosneft originally planned to sell a 49% stake in Taas-Yuryakh to China's CNPC, but the sides were unable to reach agreement on price. In June 2015, Rosneft signed the heads of agreement with SPG regarding a potential joint venture on the basis of Taas-Yuryakh Neftegazdobycha.
Rosneft earlier sold a 20% stake in Taas-Yuryakh to its Western shareholder, BP, for $750 million. BP made a payment of $150 million to Rosneft in the second quarter of 2015. Payment of the remainder, pending approval from regulators, is expected to occur before year-end.
Srednebotuobinskoye is located 169 kilometers from the Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean (ESPO) pipeline. A pipeline ties the field to ESPO in the vicinity of Lensk. Oil production at the field commenced in October 2013.
