Rosneft issued a press release Saturday morning reporting that the partners had struck oil at the University-1 well in the Kara Sea, 250 kilometers offshore in 81 meters of water and at a depth below the sea floor of more than 2,100 meters. According to Rosneft, the resource base estimate of just this one reservoir is 338 billion cubic meters of natural gas (about 12 trillion cubic feet) and 100 million metric tons of oil (about 733 million barrels).
The $700 million well is now being sealed. Under the latest round of sanctions, foreign oil companies are barred from providing equipment, technology or assistance to Russian firms to support deepwater, offshore or shale projects.
In its press release, Rosneft also noted the other partners in the project, including Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB), Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL), Weatherford International Inc. (NYSE: WFT), Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) and FMC Technologies Inc. (NYSE: FTI). Presumably all these firms are also bound by the new sanctions imposed on Russia. Because Russia has not developed significant expertise in these areas yet, the ban effectively brings all such projects to a grinding halt.
ALSO READ: Russian Turmoil Could Hurt These Top Oil Services Stocks
Top Gaining Stocks
Top Losing Stocks