Our Arctic Neighbors: Russian independent clings to licenses

Russian company Sintezneftegaz won a case in a Moscow court in late July against the Federal Agency of Subsoil Resources, Rosnedra, allowing it to keep control of its licenses for the Admiralteyskoe and Pakhtusovskoe fields in the Barents Sea. Rosnedra has been trying to withdraw Sintezneftegaz’s licenses since 2006, the newspaper Vedomosti reported, and the agency lost a similar court case against the company last year. The Russian government announced recently that all offshore resources should be under the control of state-owned majors Gazprom and Rosneft.

The two fields in dispute are along the western coast of the archipelago of Novaya Zemlya. The undrilled Pakhtusovskoe block covers 1,776 square miles, while adjacent license Admiralteyskoe covers 2,519 square miles and includes the Admiralteyskoe 1 wildcat. This well was drilled to a total depth of 12,385 feet, but due to operational constraints, no tests were carried out. The well was abandoned without conclusive proof of hydrocarbons. Rosnedra claimed in the court cases that Sintezneftegaz failed to meet its license conditions and that environmental studies were not completed.

In an effort to keep its licenses, Sintezneftegaz’s management offered to sell a controlling stake in the company to Gazprom in 2007.

—Sarah Hurst