Rosneft and Equinor expect to drill seven wells at three blocks in Eastern Siberia in 2022-2023

MOSCOW. Feb 7 (Interfax) - Rosneft and its Norwegian partner Equinor intend to drill seven exploration and appraisal wells at three hydrocarbon blocks in Eastern Siberia in 2022-2023, according to state procurement materials.

This primarily concerns the drilling of three exploratory wells in the Markhayanskiy license area. Under the tender announced, the contractor should organize one geological and technological research station designed for operational oversight of drilling. Rosneft itself is the customer for this work.

Four prospecting and appraisal and exploration wells are to be constructed at the Danilovsky and Preobrazhensky blocks. The contractor must create six geological and technological research stations especially for them. These works are being commissioned by AngaraNeft LLC (a Rosneft and Equinor JV).

The initial (maximum) price of the contract for the geological and technological research stations at the Markhayanskiy license area is set at 10.6 million rubles (including VAT), and for the other two - at 49.1 million (including VAT). The tender results are expected to be announced no later than March 14.

As previously reported, at the end of 2020 Equinor acquired from Rosneft a 49% stake in KrasGeoNats LLC (subsequently renamed into LLC AngaraNeft), which holds 12 licenses for exploration and production at sites in Eastern Siberia. Among the assets that Equinor is entering is the Severo-Danilovskoye field.

Rosneft launched Severo-Danilovskoye field in Q4 2020. It is expected that by 2024, oil production at the project will reach 40,000 barrels per day, and will be increased to 70,000 bpd in the future. The Severo-Danilovskoye field was discovered by Rosneft in 2011 at the Danilovskiy block in the Irkutsk Region. According to the latest data, the field's geological oil reserves are estimated at 125 million tonnes, and its recoverable oil reserves amount to 25 million tonnes.