Minerals Report - International Seabed Authority

lies in 320-350 m of seawater and is the deepest in Russia. This field is due
on-stream in 2006 at an initial production rate of 20 Gm 3 gas. Production
is expected to peak in 2015 at 90 Gm 3 .
In the Russian Far East, the margins of six basins in the Sea of
Okhotsk occur in more than 500 m of seawater: North Sakhalin (Deryugin
trough), Aniva, Tinro, central Okhotsk, and Ishikari-West Sakhalin
(southern termination). The thickness of the Cenozoic sedimentary fill of
these basins is 3000-4000 m except the North Sakhalin basin with a cover
thickness of 5000-7000 m. Prospective deepwater areas jointly cover about
600 thousand sq. km. However, the aggregate petroleum potential is
believed to be fairly low, not more than 2 Gtoe.
6. Conclusions
About 120 sedimentary basins are located completely or partially
in deepwater areas of the World Ocean. The initial total-in-place resources
of the deepwater sectors of these basins are estimated at 200 Gtoe, and
recoverable resources, as 99 Gtoe, including 36 Gt oil and condensate and
63 Tm 3 gas.
The bulk of oil (70%) and gas (60%) resources are confined to the
basins located along the peripheries of the Atlantic Ocean. In these
regions, deepwater hydrocarbon resources are being actively explored and
developed.
By the end of the 20 th century, exploratory wells actually reached a
sea depth of 3000 m; development wells, 2000 m. In the next 5 years, even
these achievements will be surpassed. Deepwater oil expenditure for the
period 2000-2004 is estimated at $76 billion forecast spending 16 , mostly on
the Atlantic margins of Africa and Latin and North America.
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