Russia’s Salym Petroleum to explore Yuzhno-Yamskoi site

MOSCOW, May 5 (PRIME) -- Salym Petroleum Development (SPD), a joint venture between Russia’s Gazprom Neft and Royal Dutch Shell, has received a 5-year license for geological exploration of the Yuzhno-Yamskoi site in the Khanty–Mansi Autonomous District, the company said in a statement Thursday.

The term of the license can be prolonged for geological surveys. “Within the scope of geological exploration the company plans to construct a well to confirm the presence of oil in the survey target – BS8 formation,” the company said, adding that it will receive a production license for the site if it finds a mineral field there.

“For the first time since the day it was established, SPD goes beyond the boundaries of operations on the Salym group of oilfields. Obtaining the license for geological survey of Yuzhno-Yamskoi area is an important step in implementation of the SPD strategy aimed at production growth both through putting new deposits on the Salym oilfield into development and through acquisition of new fields,” the company quoted its CEO Alexei Govzich as saying.

Prognostic recoverable reserves of the site based on quantitative estimate of crude hydrocarbons stands at 7 million tonnes under the D1 category and 600,000 tonnes under the D2 category as of January 1, 2009.

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