Russia’s massive offshore Arctic oil & gas discovery could dwarf Gulf of Mexico & Middle East’s energy reserves

Russian energy giant Rosneft has announced the discovery of a “unique” gas deposit in the Kara Sea containing an estimated 514 billion cubic meters of natural gas.

The company says the discovery could establish a new cluster for oil and gas production in the area.

The field, which has been named after Soviet Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky, is Rosneft’s third discovery in the Arctic. It is part of the company’s drilling campaign to develop the region’s oil and gas potential.

The project was started by President Vladimir Putin in 2014. It has resulted in the discovery of one of the world’s largest oil and gas fields, the Pobeda field. Its total recoverable reserves stand at some 130 million tons of oil and 422 billion cubic meters of gas.

The second discovered field, with an estimated 800 billion cubic meters of gas deposits, was named after Marshal Georgy Zhukov.

Overall, more than 30 “prospective structures” were identified in the three areas of the Kara Sea, according to Rosneft.

It said the results of the drilling prove “the discovery of a new Kara offshore oil province,” adding that “In terms of resources, it could surpass such oil and gas-bearing provinces as the Gulf of Mexico, the Brazilian shelf, the Arctic shelf of Alaska and Canada, and the major provinces of the Middle East.”

For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section