Page 6 - FSUOGM Week 34 2019

FSUOGM INVESTMENT FSUOGM
Repsol cleared to take control of Gazprom Neft project
RUSSIA
The pair will develop unexplored acreage in Western Siberia.
SPAIN’S Repsol has secured approval from Russian regulators to take a majority stake in an exploration project in Western Siberia.
Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) said on August 22 it had granted the company permission to acquire a 50.1% share in Kara- bashskiye, a subsidiary of state-owned Gazprom Ne . Karabaskiye has drilling rights to six oil and gas blocks in Russia’s proli c Khanty-Mansiysk region, known as Karabashsky-17, -18, -19, -25, -26 and -27. Gazprom Ne won licences to the blocks at a state auction in April last year, paying just over RUB588mn ($10.3mn).
Little to no exploration work has been under- taken at the blocks, although initial state esti- mates indicate they may contain up to 183mn barrels of recoverable hydrocarbons.
Gazprom Neft and Repsol already work together at seven other licences nearby through their Eurotek-Yugra joint venture. Two of these blocks, Karabashsky 1 and 2, contain the 2014 Ourinskoye oil discovery.
Ourinskoye holds 32mn tonnes (235mn barrels) in C1+C2 oil resources, which banking sources told FSU OGM last year were worth
$200-250mn. Gazprom Ne bought a 25% stake in Eurotek-Yugra in 2017, with an option to raise its share further to 50%.
In December, Gazprom Ne and Repsol also set up a separate joint venture to explore the Karabashsky-10 block.
A final decision on Ourinskoye’s develop- ment is due to be taken by the end of this year. In Repsol’s 2018 annual report, the company said results from an appraisal well drilled at the eld that year had been “positive.”
While several foreign operators quit projects in Russia following the slump in oil prices and introduction of Western sanctions in 2014, many that remained have since expanded their opera- tions. France’s Total recently bolstered its part- nership with local gas producer Novatek through the purchase of a stake in Arctic LNG-2, while BP has in recent years formed new exploration ventures with national oil company (NOC) Ros- ne . Meanwhile, Shell is reportedly looking to enter new Gazprom Ne projects.
In addition to its work with Gazprom Ne , Repsol is also developing projects in Russia with local independent Alliance Oil.™
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 34 28•August•2019