Rosnedra looking to get 2D data on Trebs, Titov from Bashneft in Q1 2014
MOSCOW. Sept 20 (Interfax) - Russia's subsurface resources agency Rosnedra expects to receive 2D seismic data on the Trebs and Titov deposits from Bashneft in the first quarter of next year, Deputy Natural Resources and Ecology Minister and Rosnedra chief Valery Pak told the press.
"The company plans to do this work in the first quarter of next year and to submit the results to us," Pak said.
There is also the possibility that changes will be made to the licensing for the deposits concerning the supply of oil to Russia's domestic market, he said.
When the license is being amended there could be inserted points allowing for the possibility of conducting swap operations, Pak said. "I think that swap operations could in full measure replace the possibility of selling on the domestic market. It's possible that when the licensing is being changed we will more precisely reflect the possibility of conducting swap operations," he said.
Pak allowed for the possibility that right after the 3D and 2D seismic work and the license being amended it will be reissued to Bashneft-Polyus.
Bashneft and Lukoil began trial production of oil at Trebs and Titov in August, and expect to produce about 300,000 tonnes of crude by the end of this year. Production at the fields could triple to 0.9 million tonnes in 2014.
Commercial production is scheduled to begin in 2016, and the project is expected to reach annual production of about 4.8 million tonnes by 2020.
Trebs and Titov have combined C1+C2 category commercial recoverable oil reserves of 140.1 million tonnes, estimated to Russian standards and registered by the government.
The license to Trebs and Titov was given to Bashneft by decision of the government. In early December 2011, the license was transferred to Bashneft Polyus, and at the end of December Lukoil bought a 25.1% stake in this company for 4.8 billion rubles. Later, Bashneft minority shareholder Svetlana Proskuryakova filed a lawsuit seeking to annul the transfer of the license to Bashneft Polyus. The Federal Subsurface Resources Agency (Rosnedra) annulled its order to transfer the license to Bashneft Polyus following reports of the lawsuit. Returning the license to the joint venture will require amendments to the license agreement.
Bashneft and Lukoil are now working on changing the license to the fields in order to transfer the license to Bashneft Polyus. They were expecting that the license would be returned to the joint venture in 2013.
However, a source at the Natural Resources Ministry told Interfax that officials can return to the issue of transferring the license in the spring of 2014 at the earliest due to the violations that the Federal Natural Resources Oversight Service (Rosprirodnadzor) found at the fields during an inspection in February-March 2013. Inspectors said that instead of the 2D seismic surveys required by the license, Bashneft conducted 3D seismics at the fields. Rosnedra, after reviewing the watchdog's report, gave Bashneft one year to rectify the infractions.
