Gazprom misses oil

As the Kommersant has got to know, yesterday’s announcement of the Ministry of Energy on discovery of one of the largest offshore oil fields in Russia was early. According to the Ministry of Natural Resources, the real reserves of the Gazprom’s South-Kirinsk field make up not 464 million tons, but only 6 million tons. As a result, the monopoly will be able to focus on gas production within Sakhalin-3 project, which includes the field, not being distracted for oil deposits.

Yesterday, the Ministry of Energy officially announced volume of oil reserves, supposedly discovered by Gazprom at the South-Kirinsk field, which is a part of Sakhalin-3. According to the report by Minister Alexander Novak, C1+C2 reserves of the field make up 464 million tons. But head of the Ministry of Natural Resources Sergei Donskoy specified that the State Commission on Reserves had registered only 6 million tons of oil, 636 billion cubic meters of gas and 97 million tons of condensate (C1+C2) at the South-Kirinsk field. “Taking into account the development scheme, there is just one oil deposit, and with very low oil recovery index – 0.1%. It can be difficult to organize joint production of oil and gas,” – the Minister added.