The All-Russian Research Geological Oil Institute, part of the Federal Agency for Mineral Resources, has announced two tenders worth a total of almost 2.5 billion rubles to study the oil and gas reserves on the Arctic shelf.

According to the purchase register, the first tender for 1.564 billion rubles will be dedicated to holding “comprehensive geological and geophysical works to study the geological structure and oil and gas prospects in the conjunction zone of the Arctic Ocean structures on the Gakkel Ridge and the Nansen Basin with the shelf structures of the Laptev Sea waters.” The area under study covers 203,500 square kilometers. According to the work specification, the completion date is the second quarter of 2024.

The second tender, worth 918 million rubles, is aimed at “studying the geological aspects and assessing the oil and gas prospects of the potential oil/gas bearing region of De Long Islands on the shelf of the East Siberian Sea.” The study area covers 146,500 square kilometers with a maximum depth of no less than 8 kilometers. The project is to be completed by the 4th quarter of 2023.

The register documents say that the projects will be financed by the federal budget. According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the projects will be implemented as part the state program devoted to the restoration and use of natural resources through regional geological studies.