Over 6 to 7 July 2004, Moscow hosted the International Conference on Russian Offshore: Business Aspects of Oil and Gas Fields Development, held under the auspices of the RF Natural Resources Ministry. The Conference was attended by over 300 experts from Russia and abroad.

Boris Nikitin, Deputy Head of Gazprom’s Gas, Gas Condensate and Oil Production Department delivered a Report at the Conference. B. Nikitin stated that exploring the potential of hydrocarbon offshore was a principally new stage of Russia’s fuel and energy complex development in the 21st century.

B. Nikitin also said that the Barents (Shtokmanovskoye gas condensate and other fields), Pechora (Prirazlomnoye, Dolginskoye and other fields) and Kara (offshore of the Ob and Taz Bays as well as the Yamal Peninsula shelf) Seas were the major areas of the RF continental shelf, targeted for development. Simultaneously, Gazprom is engaged in prospecting on the shelf of the northern and central Caspian Sea.

B. Nikitin underscored that a Gazprom-elaborated Concept of the Company’s operations on the RF offshore suggested a comprehensive approach to developing fields of the Barents, Kara and Pechora Seas. This comprehensive approach is based on the development of closely located fields, making it possible to optimize costs and to jointly develop large and relatively small offshore fields.

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According to estimates, total recoverable hydrocarbon reserves of the Russian continental shelf average 90 billion tons of fuel equivalent, including over 60 billion tons are concentrated in the Barents and Kara Seas. Gas (76 tcm) accounts for a larger part of the Russian offshore resources.

The basic guidelines of the Concept of Gazprom’s operations on the RF offshore were ratified by the Company’s Management Committee on 27 November 2003. The Concept pursues the objective of establishing the Shtokman, Ob-Taz and Yamal gas extraction and Pechora oil production provinces. By implementing the Concept, Gazprom will be able to produce in these regions over 170 bcm of gas and 20 million tons of oil, starting 2030 and up to 250-300 bcm of gas per annum, in the long term.

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