28 May 2004 02:46
TNK-BP may have to halt production at Samotlor - ministry (part 2)
MOSCOW. May 28 (Interfax) - Russian-British venture TNK-BP may possibly have to halt production at the large Samotlor
oil field because the company does not have a project development plan that has been approved by the Russian government,
a source in the PR department at the Industry and Energy Ministry told Interfax.
This information was also confirmed by a source in the Natural Resource Ministry. "The main issue for TNK-BP is
whether there were serious violations regarding deadlines and volumes for geological exploration work," the source
said.
"Some of the TNK-BP violations are formalities: the company does not submit information on the field to the
state reserves commission on time, or infringes production norms. But systematic non-observance of the geological
exploration schedule - that is very serious. The ministry indicated this to the company in 2002 and in 2003.I think the
issue of license withdrawal may come up," the source said.
However, the source said that "TNK-BP is not the worst offender when it comes to violating conditions. Almost
all large oil companies are guilty of similar violations. However, for example, the situation is a lot more serious in
Nenets autonomous district where companies working at eight license zones have received licenses but are not meeting any
of the conditions. At least large oil companies have things they need to rectify, but in Nenets autonomous district
licenses should simply be withdrawn."
Federal Energy Agency Director Sergei Oganesyan earlier expressed concern that growth in oil production is being
accompanied by a significant number of violations.
"Today, unfortunately, everybody is blinded by large oil production and the very high prices. The corresponding
state bodies should be ready to take very serious action. At a number of fields extraction by large companies is
exceeding norm 100%-200%, which is inadmissible. The same companies have an enormous idle well stock, which amounts to
40%-60%," he said.
A source in the TNK-BP press service told Interfax that "the license for the development of the Samotlor field
is valid until 2013. Every five to seven years it is necessary to revise the development plan to take changing
conditions into consideration: new technology, the geological situation. An adjusted plan was last drawn up in 1999 for
the entire remaining period. But in 2002 preparation of a corrected plan of work began, as new technology started to be
used at Samotlor to rehabilitate the field. This plan was submitted to the territorial department of the central
reserves commission in April this year. After this presentation a protocol was prepared, a final hearing on which should
be held in the second quarter 2005."
The source also said that TNK-BP has not received any official notification of violations during the development of
Samotlor.
Samotlor is the largest oilfield in Russia. However, intensive development at this field over the past 20 years has
significantly depleted its reserves. Residual reserves at the field amounted to about 1 billion tonnes of oil in 2001.
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