TNK-BP, a Russian joint venture, has announced plans to spend US$ 4 billion on investment on Arctic gas and oil fields in the coming years. The joint venture estimates a total investment expenditure of US$ 12 billion over the next 30 years.
The vice president in charge of the Yamal Oil project, Tom Quigley said that first oil is due for 2016 with a production plateau of 15 million tpy to be reached approximately 4 or 5 years later.
Quigley also said that the oil could be shipped to either Europe or Asia, but transportation to Asian markets through the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline was “most likely.”
It is predicted that 27% of the joint venture’s overall production will come from the Yamal fields, while the share coming from older fields such as Orenberg will drop to 20% TNK-BP’s Rospan unit in the Yamal region already produces approximately 3 billion m3 per year of natural gas.