Andrei Patrushev
© RIA Novosti. Iliya Pitalev

Gazprom Neft conducts Arctic development talks with Western, Asia Pacific partners

Gazprom Neft is conducting talks with its partners and colleagues from the West and the Asia Pacific region regarding cooperation in Arctic development, company Deputy General Director for Shelf Projects Andrei Patrushev said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

"Naturally, the cooperation that we are offering should benefit the company and Russia. I cannot say that we currently have a shortage of proposals from our Western or Asia Pacific partners. We are holding talks with all of them, including talks on new exploration projects and the licenses that we have," TASS quoted him as saying.

Patrushev recalled that the Prirazlomnoye project in the Arctic was implemented with the participation of a large number of partners: over 25 Russian companies.

"Under this project, we are currently engaged in production drilling. In June, another borehole should be ready," he said, adding that work on several other holes is slated to begin before the end of the year, including several production holes and one injection hole. Work at Prirazlomnaya is running on schedule, he said.

Prirazlomnaya is a sea ice-resistant stationary platform at the Prirazlomnoye oil field on the Barents Sea shelf. It is designed for drilling and oil production and storage.