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Arctic oil bound for Europe, Gazprom Neft says

MOSCOW, Sept. 22 (UPI) — Gazprom Neft Gazprom Neft confirmed a tanker filled with 200,000 barrels of oil was shipped to markets in northwest Europe last week. It was the second tanker of oil delivered from the Novoportovskoye field at the Yamal Peninsula. Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of Russian energy company Gazprom, said the oil is designated as Novy Port, which it said was "superior" in quality to the global benchmark, Brent. "A third tanker is currently being prepared for shipment," the company said in a statement. Changes in global weather patterns are leaving parts of the arctic region ice-free for longer periods of time. Gazprom Neft said it confirmed in 2011 that using a nuclear-powered icebreaker would facilitate transportation of oil from the port on the northern peninsula, where pipeline infrastructure is lacking. Any technology used to build a pipeline would "have minimal impact on the environment," […]

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Exxon Said to Halt Arctic Oil Well Drilling on Sanctions

Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) halted drilling on an offshore oil well intended as the first step in unlocking billions of barrels of crude in Russia ’s remote Arctic, according to people familiar with the project. Work stopped just a few days after the U.S. and European Union barred companies from helping Russia exploit Arctic, deep-water or shale- oil fields , said three people with knowledge of the rig’s operations who asked not to be named since they weren’t authorized to speak about the project. The U.S. sanctions, meant to punish Russia for escalating tensions in Ukraine, gave American companies until Sept. 26 to stop all restricted drilling and testing services. Exxon and Seadrill Ltd. (SDRL) ’s North Atlantic Drilling (NADL) unit are under the gun to finish or temporarily seal the $700 million well off Russia’s northern coast before the sanctions deadline, said Chris Kettenmann, chief energy strategist at […]

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Gazprom Neft marks arctic milestone

MOSCOW, Sept. 15 (UPI) — Russian oil company Gazprom Neft said Monday it reached a milestone with the production of its 1 millionth barrel of oil from the arctic Prirazlomnoye field. Gazprom Neft Board Chairman Alexander Dyukov said his is the first Russian company to pull oil from the Russian arctic shelf . "The production of the millionth barrel of oil at the Prirazlomnoye field is a milestone and further proof of the consistent development of the project and its final transition into full-scale development," he said in a statement. "Gazprom Neft plays a leading role in developing oil deposits on the Arctic shelf and we can build on this experience for new Arctic projects in the future." The company expects 2.2 million barrels worth of production from Prirazlomnoye during the first full year of development. A tanker with 1 million barrels worth of storage capacity is set to […]

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Shell keeps Alaskan arctic options open

"We continue to take a methodical approach to this exploration phase and will only proceed with a program that meets the conditions necessary to proceed safely and responsibly," a spokesman said in a statement emailed to UPI. The U.S. Coast Guard in April published a 152-page report on Shell’s operations in Alaska . Shell’s drillship Kulluk struck ground off the Alaskan coast in 2012, and the Coast Guard blamed harsh winter conditions and the company’s efforts to escape Alaskan tax laws for the incident. Kulluk’s grounding off the Alaskan coast followed a 2012 exploration season in the arctic waters of Alaska that was complicated by equipment failures. The company in January said it was suspending its efforts to explore Alaskan waters because of costs and court challenges to its exploration campaign. Shell said it submitted revisions to an already-approved plan for the Chukchi Sea to the Bureau of Ocean […]

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Russia’s Rosneft grabs Norwegian drilling assets

"This deal will allow Rosneft to acquire new capabilities in the sphere of oilfield services, by engaging the best professionals, with unique expertise in operations in harsh climate conditions," Rosneft Chief Executive Officer Igor Sechin said in a statement Friday. Rosneft was the target of sanctions imposed by Western powers in response to Russia’s stance on crises in Ukraine. Sechin himself was sanctioned by the U.S. government. Nevertheless, the Russian oil company has signed a string of agreements with its international counterparts, including an Aug. 1 deal to acquire Venezuelan assets from oil services company Weatherford International. Last week, Rosneft announced it started an exploration program in the arctic waters of the Barents Sea with Norwegian energy company Statoil. On the latest deal, Sechin said Rosneft and its Norwegian partners are creating an international partnership in drilling services. "The company will notably strengthen its positions on the market of […]

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Russia's Rosneft grabs Norwegian drilling assets

"This deal will allow Rosneft to acquire new capabilities in the sphere of oilfield services, by engaging the best professionals, with unique expertise in operations in harsh climate conditions," Rosneft Chief Executive Officer Igor Sechin said in a statement Friday. Rosneft was the target of sanctions imposed by Western powers in response to Russia’s stance on crises in Ukraine. Sechin himself was sanctioned by the U.S. government. Nevertheless, the Russian oil company has signed a string of agreements with its international counterparts, including an Aug. 1 deal to acquire Venezuelan assets from oil services company Weatherford International. Last week, Rosneft announced it started an exploration program in the arctic waters of the Barents Sea with Norwegian energy company Statoil. On the latest deal, Sechin said Rosneft and its Norwegian partners are creating an international partnership in drilling services. "The company will notably strengthen its positions on the market of […]

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Gazprom Neft readies arctic oil shipments

The company said it would ship a low sulfur blend of crude oil , dubbed Novy Port, from the field bearing its name from the Yamal peninsula. "A sea tanker will deliver the oil to Europe in September and over 80,000 tons of the new Novy Port oil classification are scheduled to be delivered from the field by two tankers during the 2014 ice-free season," the company said in a statement. Changes in global weather patterns are leaving parts of the arctic region ice-free for longer periods of time. Gazprom Neft said it confirmed in 2011 that using a nuclear-powered icebreaker would facilitate transportation of oil from the port on the northern peninsula, where pipeline infrastructure is lacking. When ice is heavy, the company said it would ship oil by rail to a northern rail terminal for transportation to the regional market until an export terminal is completed in […]

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A New Frontier for Fracking: Drilling Near the Arctic Circle

Hydraulic fracturing is about to move into the Canadian Arctic, with companies exploring the region’s rich shale oil deposits. But many indigenous people and conservationists have serious concerns about the impact of fracking in more fragile northern environments. Among the dozens of rivers that flow unfettered through the Canadian North, the Natla and the Keele may be the most picturesque and culturally important. They are especially significant to the Dene people of the Sahtu region, which straddles the Arctic Circle in the Northwest Territories. Both of the rivers flow crystal clear out of the Mackenzie Mountains along the Yukon/Northwest Territories border before coming together in their final course to the Mackenzie River. Conoco-Phillips fracking project in Sahtu Photo credit: Conoco-Phillips. A Conoco-Phillips shale oil fracking site in the Sahtu region of Canada’s Northwest Territories. For hundreds — if not thousands — of years, the Mountain Dene people have been […]

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Norway Oil Services See Russia Sanctions Risking Arctic Push

Aker Solutions ASA (AKSO) , the offshore engineering company controlled by billionaire Kjell Inge Roekke, could miss opportunities to expand into Russia ’s Arctic region if Europe and the U.S. uphold sanctions on the country. “If the political situation continues and the sanctions are long-term, they will mean lost market opportunities,” Chairman Oeyvind Eriksen said in Oslo yesterday. While the Fornebu, Norway-based company isn’t currently involved in any large projects in Russia, it’s “ready to consider” opportunities when the restrictions are lifted, he said. Aker Solutions , which has experience of the Arctic through projects it’s worked on off Norway , is seeking to expand into new markets as the company splits to focus on its subsea and engineering businesses to cut costs and improve shareholder returns. The company’s owners, which include Roekke’s investment company Aker ASA (AKER) and the Norwegian state, approved the split at a meeting in […]

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Kara Sea reserves unrivaled, Rosneft says

| License Photo Operations with Exxon Mobil in the arctic waters of the Kara Sea should be on par with those in North America or Saudi Arabia, Russian oil company Rosneft said. Rosneft announced it started work with Exxon in the northern region that it said would help address international energy security concerns. "Comparing this project in terms of a resource base to other projects, we can say for sure that it is highly competitive with the largest resources, such as the resource base of Saudi Arabia, and will by far surpass the capacities of the Gulf of Mexico Shelf, Alaska and Canada," Rosneft Chief Executive Officer Igor Sechin said Saturday. Rosneft positioned the West Alpha rig , provided by Norwegian company North Atlantic Drilling, at the East Prinovozemelskiy-1 license area in the Kara Sea. The company said the entire area could hold as much as 87 billion barrels […]

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