Russia to set up oil deposits cluster to tap huge Arctic energy reserves

Russia’s oil major Rosneft said it will start developing a cluster of oil fields in the Arctic region, which is believed to hold some of the world’s largest remaining untapped oil and gas reserves.

According to the head of Rosneft Igor Sechin, preliminary estimates suggest that, starting from 2027 the deposits could annually produce up to 100 million tons of oil.

“The resources of the Russian Arctic (considering only from the above-ground part) are estimated at up to 10 billion tons of oil equivalent. We are embarking on their development,” Sechin said on Thursday at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

He noted that oil reserves at the oilfields which will be developed by Rosneft are estimated at 2.6 billion tons. The Arctic cluster of fields should become the engine of development of the entire Arctic zone, Sechin forecast. He added that the future of energy and economy is linked to the wealth of the Arctic.

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Sechin said that the most promising areas are located in the north of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, near the Northern Sea Route. It was confirmed that they have oil reserves which can be considered premium in terms of quality, the head of Rosneft said.

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