OREANDA-NEWS. January 17, 2014. Rosneft summed up the results of its offshore operations last year. The company received licenses for 17 new offshore blocks, namely Zapadno-Matveyevsky, Zapadno-Prinovozemelsky, Russky, Severo-Pomorsky-1, Yuzhno-Prinovozemelsky, Anisinsko-Novosibirsky, Severo-Karsky, Ust-Lensky, Ust-Oleneksky, Severo-Vrangelevsky-1, Severo-Vrangelevsky-2, Yuzhno-Chukotsky, Albanovsky, Varneksky, Vostochno-Sibirsky, Vostochno-Pribrezhny, and Amur-Limansky ones. Another two offshore blocks were awarded to Rosneft upon discovery.

The Company currently holds 46 licenses for oil and gas exploration and production in Russian offshore areas, harboring in total resources of over 42 billion toe, including 34.6 billion toe in the Arctic offshore area.

Rosneft kept strengthening strategic cooperation with its foreign partners in 2013. The company signed definitive agreements on cooperation in Russian offshore with ExxonMobil, Eni and Statoil. Moreover, the partners went so far as to set up operating companies for joint projects implementation. Another agreement was signed with Inpex seeking offshore cooperation in the Sea of Okhotsk at Magadan 2 and Magadan 3 license blocks.

Rosneft did considerable preparatory work to get ready for offshore drilling last year. The Company assessed its needs for the fleet of vehicles and selected the types of maritime vessels and constructions required for the projects to go ahead.

More than 30 maritime vehicles were involved in geological exploration works off Russian shores in 2013, with leading Russian and international scientific and project management organizations involved.

Importantly, 2D seismic was performed in the Sea of Okhotsk, the Kara Sea, the Barents Sea and the Pechora Sea with 32,500 linear km of 2D data acquired. 3D seismic surveying gave 2,600 sq km of data.

The company introduced a number of technological solutions in a bid to increase the efficiency and optimize the performance of existing fields, including Chaivo and Odoptu-sea (Northern Dome).

The Company continued the successful development of its foreign offshore initiatives last year as well. For example, it inked an offshore production sharing agreement and a natural gas supply contract with Vietnam. Moreover, 3D seismic surveys were completed with 1,186 sq km of data received.

Rosneft will continue to expand its offshore portfolio and develop existing projects in 2014. For instance, the plan is to start drilling the first well in the Kara Sea a year ahead of the target date set forth in the license, as well as to drill an exploration well in the Caspian Sea.