Gazprom Neft, a Russian oil company, invited Shell, a global oil and gas major, to join its offshore projects “Triton” and “Neptune” on the Sakhalin island shelf, said Vadim Yakovlev, deputy CEO of Gazprom Neft. He also noted that Shell can join the project for the development of Achimov strata at the Yamburgskoye oil and gas condensate field in Western Siberia.
“The data we collected on the fields’ resources allows us to discuss cooperation opportunities with our partners who are interested in joining this project. We made a respective offer to Shell. We are cooperating and I think we can say that the company is interested,” said Vadim Yakovlev cited by TASS news agency.
Drilling platform in the Sea of Okhotsk. Image credit: Gazprom Neft
Gazprom Neft is interested in Shell’s assets in the Middle East and North Africa. “Shell allows us to assess its assets, and that’s what we are doing. It will depend on how attractive the options are. Will this project be attractive, the most important, the most competitive in our portfolio? We are currently assessing a range of assets in the Middle East and North Africa,” said Vadim Yakovlev.
Vadim Yakovlev also noted that Gazprom Neft is not particularly interested in the asset swap deals because of their complexity. Currently, Gazprom Neft has a strong portfolio of high-margin projects in Russia, which helps to ensure the company’s stable growth in the long-term perspective. “It is hard to find a suitable project abroad, which would comply with the company’s profit margin requirements,” said Mr Yakovlev.
Cederic Cremers, country chair for Russia at Shell, said that the company is interested in the oil and gas projects in Russia. “Obviously, we are interested in both. Oil and gas. We are increasing our presence in Western Siberia and we plan to grow further,” said Cederic Cremers cited by RIA Novosti news agency.
The Ayashsky licence block. Image credit: Gazprom Neft
The “Neptune” field was discovered by Gazprom Neft Shelf LLC in October 2017, following the drilling and testing of an appraisal well at the Ayashsky licence block, located in the Sea of Okhotsk, 55 kilometres offshore from Sakhalin Island. Its geological reserves are provisionally estimated at 255 mtoe, of which 70–80 mtoe are recoverable. Another hydrocarbon deposit named “Triton” was discovered at the Ayashsky block in 2018, during drilling of an appraisal well at the Bautinsky formation. Its reserves are estimated at more than 137 mtoe, reports Gazprom Neft.
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