Over the last decade, Russian gas giant Gazprom started developing eight Arctic shelf deposits, increasing the overall volume of reserves by 3.6 billion metric tons, Rossiya Segodnya reports citing Vsevolod Cherepanov, head of the company's Gas, Gas Condensate and Oil Production Department.

Gazprom also produced 2-D topographic images of more than 19,000 linear meters, and 3-D images of over 20,000 square kilometers. The company drilled a total of 100,000 square meters.

Speaking at a conference devoted to the issues of Arctic exploration Mr.Cherepanov said that shelf prospecting will help Gazprom more than double its reserves in the next decade.

"Thanks to a large-scale geological prospecting works, we expect a considerable increase in hydrocarbon reserves over the next 10 years. The reserves in the Okhotsk Sea are estimated to be 1.5 times larger than the current proved reserves. Prospecting done on the Arctic shelf suggests it can double its proved reserves," Mr. Cherepanov said.

He added that the main stage of shelf development will take place in 2015-2024, when over 50 exploratory and development wells will have to be drilled, while an additional 30 development wells may be needed if new reserves are discovered on the leased areas.

According to Vsevolod Cherepanov, new deposits are likely to be discovered as well.