OREANDA-NEWS. June 25, 2009. TNK-BP is not going to cut its geological exploration plans, said Sergey Ostapenko, Vice President, Exploration, TNK-BP, in his speech at the Seventh Russian Oil and Gas Congress, reported the press-centre of TNK-BP.

“Despite the economic hardships, the company will not curtail its geological exploration works in the next 5 years. Recently, we approved a 10-year development plan of the company, in which exploration plays an important role,” said he.

Mr. Ostapenko explained that the development plan implies compensation of production with 100% replenishment of reserves every year.

In 2010–2014, TNK-BP will drill 250 new wells and develop both new and old fields.

Mr. Ostapenko reminded that in the last 5 years the company incremented its reserves by approximately 440 million tons of liquid hydrocarbons. In this period, the annual increment of reserves exceeded the production by 45 million tons of liquid hydrocarbons. “Four million tons of them is already produced. This is a good reserve for future and for the present,” said he. The Vice President of TNK-BP added that currently the company drills an average of 40–45 wells a year and performs 4,500 linear kilometers of 2D seismic exploration works and 4,000 linear kilometers of 3D seismic exploration works a year in average. The exploratory drilling success ratio increased in the last 5 years from 60% to 75%. “We are going to maintain this level,” noted Mr. Ostapenko.

Mr. Ostapenko stressed that the main areas of activities of TNK-BP are Uvat in the Tyumen Region and Krasnoyarsk Krai.

In the framework of the Uvat project in the last 5 years, TNK-BP discovered 17 new fields, drilled approximately 100 wells, and put 40 million tons of oil of category C1 and 90 million tons of oil of category C2 on the balance at the State Reserves Commission. “Apart from that, we are on the way of adding approximately 80 million tons of oil of category C3,” the Vice President added.

In Krasnoyarsk Krai, the company discovered 11 new fields in the Bolshekhetskoe area and incremented its reserves by approximately 150 million tons in the last 5 years.