Gazprom Neft announced the discovery of a field in southern Yamal with geological reserves of 55 million tons of oil on February 11.
The deposit is located within the South Novy Port and Saletinsky sections, which are part of the company’s regional cluster, also including the Arctic Gates terminal in the Ob Bay.
As noted by the company, this is the largest oil field discovered in Yamal in the past 30 years. The discovery followed a three-year cycle of geological exploration work, including seismic studies and the development of geological and hydrodynamic models. Drilling was monitored remotely from the management center in Tyumen. Gazprom Neft plans to conduct additional exploration shortly to determine its production potential. The company did not respond to further inquiries.
According to Dmitry Kasatkin, managing partner at Kasatkin Consulting, additional exploration could take two to three years and require approximately 10 to 30 billion rubles, while investment for infrastructure development and drilling of the production fund might reach hundreds of billions of rubles. He added that within the cluster, CAPEX could be optimized by utilizing resources from the Novy Port field and the Arctic Gates terminal.
Oleg Abelev, head of the analytics department at RIKOM-Trust, believes that the project may reach plateau production within five to six years, with peak output occurring after 2030. He stated that the optimal production level for Arctic infrastructure is 3-3.5 million tons of oil annually. While scaling volumes to 5 million tons is technically feasible, it will require more intensive drilling and a significant increase in capital expenditures. He added that a stable production level could be maintained for 10-12 years.
The characteristics of the field suggest it belongs to the type of oil and gas condensate deposits, with the raw material likely consisting of low-sulfur oil, gas, and condensate, according to Dmitry Kasatkin.
The extracted raw materials may enter the Arctic Novy Port grade, which is in demand in export markets and suitable for deep processing.
At the same time, the presence of gas and condensate will necessitate Gazprom Neft to create a comprehensive collection and preparation system, as well as effective flare gas utilization schemes, the analyst continues.
The strategic advantage of the new field is the increased share of low-sulfur oil grades, notes Sergey Tereshkin, CEO of Open Oil Market. He explains that the demand for such raw materials remains stable due to stricter maritime and aviation fuel standards. According to Tereshkin, Arctic oil will be in demand in regions with a strong processing infrastructure, such as China, India, and the Middle East.
According to the Ministry of Natural Resources, in 2025, 31 oil fields were opened in Russia, with oil and condensate reserves increasing by 640 million tons.
The largest hydrocarbon fields have been discovered in Yamal and the Krasnoyarsk Territory. The discovery by Gazprom Neft does not change the balance of the Russian market, but confirms that Yamal can gradually replace Western Siberia, points out Oleg Abelev. Dmitry Kasatkin adds that the field provides Gazprom Neft with a long-term foundation for developing its Arctic cluster. He notes that the project's operation will help mitigate the risks of production decline in mature fields of traditional oil and gas provinces.
Source: Kommersant
