Russian state gas producer Gazprom has discovered two new offshore fields in the Yamal region with total reserves of more than 500 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas, the company said in a press release.
The fields are located in the Kara Sea near the Yamal Peninsula and hold 390.7 bcm and 120.8 bcm respectively, Gazprom said.
Gazprom hired Chinese rig Nan Hai Ba Hao to do the exploration work. According to the Russian company, the rig will be back for more drilling in the area this summer.
The discovery has been named after Soviet Minister of Energy V.A Dinkov and is located at 72 degrees North about 100 km off the west coast of the Yamal Peninsula.
With the discovery of the V.A. Dinkov field, the Chinese rig has made two of Russia’s biggest offshore findings over the last decade. The accumulated resources of the discoveries amount to more than 1.2 trillion cubic meters of natural gas.
The «Nan Hai Ba Hao» is owned by the China Oilfield Service Limited and is also known as the «Nanhai VIII».
The «Nan Hai Ba Hao» was not the only rig that drilled in Russia’s Kara Sea in 2018. Also the rigs «Arcticheskaya» and the «Amazon» were active in the Nyarmeysky and Severo-Obskoye license areas respectively.
The rigs are owned by Gazprom Flot, a subsidiary unit of Gazprom. According to the company, the drilling at the Nyarmeysky revealed a total of 120,8 billion cubic meters. The Severo-Obskoye structure holds more than 300 billion cubic meters, license holder Novatek said.
