All news

Rosneft, Inpex sign protocol of cooperation on oilfield development

The companies will cooperate on the Magadan-2 and Magadan-3 oilfields

TOKYO, May 29 (Itar-Tass) - The president of Russian oil company Rosneft, Igor Sechin, and the president of Japan’s top oil explorer Inpex, Toshiaki Kitamura, signed on Wednesday a protocol of expanding cooperation in the development of oil fields on the continental shelf in the Sea of Okhotsk off the Magadan region.

The companies will cooperate on the Magadan-2 and Magadan-3 oilfields. These oilfields in the Sea of Okhotsk are situated at a depth of about 200 meters.

Oil reserves there are estimated at about 3.4 billion barrels. This is Japan’s demand for oil for a period of three years.

The practical oil prospecting may begin already in 2017, and the oilfield development is expected to start in the middle of 2020.

It was reported earlier that the Japanese government intends to throw its weight behind this joint project. In particular, Japan’s JOGMEC (Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation) will offer financial aid at the first stage of practical oilfield development. According to some reports, it may defray 50 to 75 percent of expenses. Japan Bank for International Cooperation, JBIC, is ready to credit the practical oilfield development.

Inpex is controlled by the Japanese government. The corporation develops oil and gas in different parts of the globe. It has been reported that Tokyo puts much emphasis on an agreement on the development of geographically close fields in the Sea of Okhotsk, as this will make it less dependent on the Middle East, from where it currently receives over 80 percent of oil.