Gazprom Neft has secured subsoil usage rights for hydrocarbon exploration, development and production at the Zapadno-Rubezhinsky, Nadezhdinsky and Kornavarinsky license blocks, in the Orenburg Oblast.
The Zapadno-Rubezhinsky and Nadezhdinsky blocks are located in the Pervomaysky District of the Orenburg Oblast, covering areas of 227 and 337 square kilometres, respectively. According to data from the State Register of Mineral Reserves, recoverable D0 reserves at the Zapadno-Rubezhinsky block stand at 1.2 million tonnes of oil, 9.3 billion cubic metres of gas, and 1.8 million tonnes of condensate, and 7.6 million tonnes of oil, 9.2 billion cubic metres of gas and 1.6 million tonnes of condensate at the Nadezhdinsky block.
The Kornavarinsky block, at 820.9 square kilometres in size, covers the Pervomaysky, Tashlinsky and Totsky Districts of the Orenburg Oblast, and abuts the Solnechny block, the license to which is also held by Gazprom Neft. Total recoverable D0 reserves at the Kornovarinsky block stand at 1.3 million tonnes of oil, 1.2 billion cubic metres of gas, and 437,000 tonnes of condensate.
The Zapadno-Rubezhinsky, Nadezhdinsky and Kornavarinsky license blocks are all characterised by a low level of investigation. The first stage of their development will involve seismic surveying in order to eliminate any uncertainty and to clarify the resource base. The various geological prospecting works at these license blocks will be undertaken by Gazprom Neft subsidiary Gazpromneft-GEO, established to manage major geological prospecting turnkey projects.
These new assets will form part of Gazprom Neft’s liquid hydrocarbon cluster in Orenburg, and will allow the company to expand the geographic extent of its activities, as well as expanding its resource base in the Volgo-Urals district. The licenses have been granted for a period of 25 years.
Alexei Vashkevich, Head of Geological Exploration and Resource Base Development, Gazprom Neft, commented: «Gazprom Neft’s asset portfolio was supplemented by 20 new blocks in 2018, with production potential of about 600 million tonnes of oil equivalent (mtoe).
The acquisition of development licenses to three blocks in Orenburg is in line with our strategy of developing the company’s resource base and is directed at expanding Gazprom Neft’s activities in this region where, since 2011, we have been working on establishing a major oil production cluster.»
