High likelihood that large and giant deposits of oil and gas to be discovered in Taimyr - experts
MOSCOW. May 4 (Interfax) - The subsoil resources of the Taimyr Peninsula require a fundamental and deep geological assessment, and there is a high probability of discovery of large and giant oil and gas fields in the region in the coming years, according to the article "Status and new vectors of oil and gas prospecting in Taimyr" published in the magazine "Mineral Resources of Russia. Economics and Management". The article was authored by Viktor Baldin, Deputy Director of Science at the Geostra Ltd. Scientific and Production Center and Nail Munasypov, Director and Chief Geologist of Bashneftegeofizika LLC.
The experts say that Taimyr has vast oil and gas potential, which in many ways has yet to be realized. "The territory of the Taimyr municipal district of the Krasnoyarsk Territory is among the most promising areas in Russia in terms of hydrocarbons in both the Mesozoic and Neoproterozoic-Paleozoic complexes. All four oil and gas bearing basins partially represented in Taimyr are promising: the West Siberian Mesozoic, Khatango-Vilyuysky Paleozoic-Mesozoic, South Taimyrsky Paleozoic, and the North Tungusky Neoproterozoic-Paleozoic," the article indicates.
It is absolutely necessary on the basis of critical analysis and generalization of all the accumulated geological and geophysical information, on a modern technical and methodical level of interpretation and applying new scientific ideas to generate a forecast of oil and gas bearing capacity of Taimyr for each of the four sedimentation basins and develop an effective strategy for oil and gas deposits in this region, the article said.
"The study of all four oil-and-gas bearing basins of Taimyr via the common depth point method (CDPM) seismic survey and deep drilling remains very weak up to the present time. There is no reserve fund of oil-and-gas prospective sites prepared via CDPM seismic survey for prospect drilling. The scope of the CDPM-2D/3D prospecting stage must be increased exponentially (10 times!) from the current level in order to prepare sites for deep drilling in modern conditions and create a rich reserve fund of promising oil and gas sites" the experts said.
"Of primary interest for oil and gas development in Taimyr is the Ust-Yenisei oil and gas region and the West Siberian oil and gas shows. With intensive seismic surveys and prospecting and appraisal drilling, there is a high probability of discovering new large and giant oil and gas fields in the coming years," the authors of the article said.
The north of the Krasnoyarsk Territory has become extremely attractive for oil and gas companies in recent years. The Natural Resources Ministry and Rosnedra have repeatedly emphasized that a new oil province is taking shape in this undeveloped region, which can be compared with Yamal in its potential. Moreover, the north of the Krasnoyarsk Territory falls under the Arctic preferences that were adopted at the federal level in 2020. It is also expected that the hydrocarbon resource base in the north of the Krasnoyarsk Territory will become one of the pillars for the growth of cargo traffic along the Northern Sea Route.
Currently, the primary Russian oil companies are already represented in this Arctic region with an extremely low degree of geological exploration and considerable remoteness from transport and oil and gas infrastructure. Rosneft has launched its large Vostok Oil Arctic project in Taimyr (the base fields will be Payakhskoye, Zapadno-Irkinskoye, and the assets of Vankor cluster), Gazprom Neft is setting up a geological cluster in this region, while several sites for geological exploration in Taimyr were acquired by Surgutneftegas . LUKOIL was also interested in the region, but failed to find any commercially significant hydrocarbon reserves after drilling the first exploration well in the East-Taimyr area at a depth of about 5,500 meters.
Rosgeo previously reported that it had discovered two hydrocarbon prospective zones at Gydan-Khatanga, similar to the deposits at the Payakhskoye and Irkinskoye fields. The refers to the Novokubalakh area, where the Zhdanikhinskaya and Agapskaya oil and gas accumulation zones have been identified. Ten prospective sites with recoverable D1 hydrocarbon resources were identified: oil - 378 million tonnes, gas - 666.1 billion cubic meters, condensate - 14.9 million tonnes. Justifications were submitted for further exploration.
Two areas are currently recommended for licensing in this zone.