Igor Sechin, the most influential figure in Russia's energy industry, announced last week that a new oil field discovered in the Arctic was to be christened "Pobeda" — the Russian word for victory. Speaking to reporters from a blustery drilling platform, the Kremlin heavyweight, who also heads state-owned oil giant Rosneft, waxed lyrical about the future of Arctic oil. But the name, and the gushing words, may be a bit premature. The drilling of the exploratory well, Universitetskaya-1, that has even prompted Sechin to compare the resource base of the Kara Sea to that of Saudi Arabia, would not have been possible without the technical experience and know-how of foreign companies working alongside Rosneft.
Foreign oil companies were suddenly blocked from working in the Russian Arctic last month by U.S. and European Union sanctions on Moscow for the Kremlin's role in the Ukraine crisis. It is unclear how long sanctions will be in place, but Rosneft's lack of experience in developing offshore fields — particularly in the icy and dangerous seas off Russia's northern coast — means that Western companies' input is crucial.
INC News, 08/10/2014
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