Rosneft strikes gas in Russian Far East
Russian oil firm Rosneft has made its second gas discovery in Russia's far eastern province of Yakutia this year, the company reported on July 9, estimating the find to contain 40bn m3 of gas and 2mn metric tons of condensate.
The discovery was made by Rosneft's Taas-Yuryakh Neftegazodobycha (TYNGD) joint venture with BP and Indian firms Oil India, Indian Oil and Bharat Petroleum. The field, which has been named Kederginskoye, was described as "large" by Rosneft, but the company did not disclose any development plans.
TYNGD discovered another large field in Yakutia in January which was named Ivan Kulbertinov. The joint venture's main asset is the Srednetuobinskoye oilfield, which delivers crude to Asia-Pacific markets via the Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline. But the company, which owns 10 licences in total, has not found a way to commercialise its gas reserves, which were estimated at 66bn m3 proved and probable by DeGolyer & MacNaughton in 2018.
The only export route for gas in the region is the Power of Siberia, launched in December 2019, and Gazprom has exclusive rights to its capacity. Domestic demand is limited, as the region is scarcely populated and lacking in gas infrastructure. Local gas producer Yakutsk Fuel and Energy Co has proposed an alternative route to markets, however, recently unveiling a plan to build a 1,300-km pipeline to pump gas from its Yakutia fields to the coast, where it wants to erect an LNG terminal.