Seismic mapping of the Barents Sea will start in summer of 2013, Eni Deputy President Guiseppe Valenti confirmed at a recent oil and gas conference in Moscow, Oilru.com reports. The exploration of the two huge Barents Sea structures, the Fedynsky and the Tsentralno-Barentsevsky, is part of Eni’s comprehensive cooperation agreement with Rosneft
The agreement signed in April 2012 gives the Italian company a 33,3 percent stake in the joint venture which is to explore and develop the two structures in the Barents Sea. Like in Rosneft’s deals with ExxonMobil and Statoil, it is the foreign partner – Eni – which is responsible for conducting and financing the seismic mapping.
Expectations are high to the areas, which are believed to among the most resource-rich in all of Russia’s Arctic waters. Mapping of the nearby Norwegian waters across the border indicate a significant hydrocarbon potential. As previously reported, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate in February this year presented a survey which indicate resource up to 1,9 billion barrels of oil equivalents in the Norwegian part of the formerly disputed zone. Experts believe the Russian side of the border is likely to be the far most prospective, and that the socalled Fedynsky High could ultimately get ”elephant” status.
According to Rosneft, preliminary 2D seismics indicate a total of nine promising structures at the Fedynsky area and a resource potential of as much as 18,7 billion barrels of oil equivalents. A total of 6500 km of 2D mapping is to be conducted by 2017 and another 1000 square km of 3D mapping by 2018. The first well is to be drilled before 2020.
Rosneft believes that the Tsentralno-Barentsevsky area holds about 7 billion barrels of oil equivalents. 3200 km of 2D mapping is to be conducted before 2016 and 1000 square km of 3D mapping by 2018, the company informs.
If the field discoveries stretch across the border, the operators will have to deal with a set of regulations carefully outlined in the Norwegian-Russian border delineation agreement from 2011.
