According to Rosneft’s published materials, the company’s program until the year 2022 entails drilling ten search wells and undertaking exploratory works at license areas in the Far East and on the East Arctic shelf. Rosneft’s total spending for exploration and production in the region are anticipated to reach RUB140 billion (USD2.37 billion) in the planning period, the company’s materials released September 8, 2017 suggest.

In the beginning of April, Rosneft started drilling a well at the northernmost Central Olginskaya-1 offshore field in the Khatanga license area in the East Arctic.

Rosneft intends to speed up exploratory drilling on the Arctic shelf, drilling four search wells in the Laptev Sea, and eight wells in the Karsky and the Barents seas. Rosneft now has 28 license areas on the Arctic shelf with total resources of 34 billion tons of oil equivalent. Rosneft’s share comprises 78 percent of total licensed areas in the Arctic.

Russia has intensely pursued Arctic development, despite the Western sanctions. The country anticipates launching the Yamal LNG plant this December. The project’s capacity is estimated at 16.5 million tons of liquified natural gas annually. Yamal LNG’s participants include NOVATEK at 50.1 percent, Total and CNPC with 20 percent each, as well as the Silk Road Fund with 9.9 percent.

Yamal is bound to be a significant transshipment point on the so-called Northern Sea Route, which shortens the transportation time for goods from China to Europe by 12 days.