Company news in April 2004 | |||
Long, Long Ago, on a Distant Island.
The Russian island of Sakhalin is of the most promising power regions worldwide. It is expected to make up for decrease in crude output in such traditional fuel regions as the U.S. and the Northern Sea in the next few years. Gradually, during several years the "Oil International" gathered on the Sakhalin shore - Russian companies, Americans, the British, Indians, and the Japanese. BP and Rosneft initially claimed to develop the entire Sakhalin block, but the State Duma did not enter it in the list of projects to be developed under PSA; and late in 2001 the Natural Resources Ministry opted for dividing it into four or five sections and to separately put them to tender. As a result, on July 25, 2002, TNK announced obtaining the license for prospecting of the Lopukhov section that includes such promising structures as Lopukhovskaya, Vostochno Schmidtovskaya, Trekhbratskaya, and Baklania. The section is located at the northern edge of Sakhalin, at the juncture of the Sakhalin-4 and the Sakhalin-5 blocks, i.e. inside the area of BP''s and Rosneft''s interests. TNK established a subsidiary, TNK-Sakhalin LLC, which planned to start exploratory drilling in 2004. Forecasted reserves of the Lopukhov section are estimated at 130 million tons of oil and 500 billion cubic meters of gas, and total investments into its development will make approx. US$ 4 million. If prospecting is successful and the license for extraction is obtained, TNK intends to engage foreign investors into the project. Gradually progressing to creating a strategic partnership with BP, TNK acted on the Sakhalin shore in the same way as it did in the Kovykta project, purchasing licenses to sections neighboring on those owned by BP. Joining efforts in development of neighboring licensed sections will enable the companies to save money on prospecting, to cut down investment risks and greatly reduce borrowing costs by increasing reserves of the consolidated project. Rosneft was a proponent of such cooperation, though it objected to the transfer of BP''s stake in the Sakhalin project to TNK-BP, reasoning that BP''s rating and international financial reputation make it possible to raise funds upon the best conditions even now, whereas the new company is still unknown on Western financial markets. As Mr. P. Cherow, BP''s Managing Director in Russia said, the company expects the issue to be resolved after establishment of a joint operating company by participants in the Sakhalin-4 and the Sakhalin-5 projects. A compromise scenario may be transfer of management of the British company''s stake in the Sakhalin projects to TNK-BP. Pending resolution of organizational issues, Rosneft seeks to boost its reserves on the shore. The Sakhalin-6 also was intensified: Petrosakh, a company close to TNK, is prospecting off-shore, Rymnik and Kerosin, structures, whereas Rosneft invited by Petrosakh to partnership, has obtained a license for prospecting the so-called Pogranichny (Border) block. Presently, Petrosakh is ready to sales and deals with cheap fuel supplies at prices 30% lower than market ones to socially significant Sakhalin-based enterprises.
Source: Neft'' Rossii