Gazprom is prepared to assist Rosneft in the drilling in the Kara Sea after its partner, ExxonMobil, has been forced to wind down its operations due to the US sanctions against Russia, a senior executive was quoted by Bloomberg as saying.

      Earlier, Rosneft has trumpeted the discovery of a new oil field in the Kara Sea in a joint effort with the US giant ExxonMobil after six weeks of drilling and studies.

      In an official press release, Rosneft announced the new oil is similar to the Siberian Light oil in terms of its properties.

      The head of Rosneft Igor Sechin praised the combined efforts of all the partners including ExxonMobil, Nord Atlantic Drilling, Schlumberger, Halliburton, Weatherford, Baker, Trendsetter, FMC.

      The new oil field will be called Pobeda, or Victory, and is expected to hold 338 bcm of gas and more than 100 mln tonnes of oil, according to preliminary results.

      Earlier, Russia-IC reported on the rumors around the project, including a suspension in the drilling activities due to the US sanctions, but eventually ExxonMobil issued a statement where it said it had been granted a reprieve to finish the drilling due to the sensitive Arctic environment.

      The drilling of Universitetskaya-1, Russia’s northernmost well, was done by the West Alpha rig owned by Karmorneftegaz, a JV by Rosneft and ExxonMobil , had launched exploratory drilling.

      The West Alpha rig was provided by the Norwegian company North Atlantic Drilling which signed long-term agreements with Rosneft for the offshore drilling on 30 July 2014. West Alpha was transported via the Barents, Pechora and Kara Seas and installed on the drilling site of the East Prinovozemelskiy-1 Licence Area in the Kara Sea. The drilling rig made the way of over 1900 nautical miles to reach its destination. The rig is 30,700 tons in deadweight, 70 m long, 66 m wide, the derrick towers 108.5 meters over the main deck.

      The rig is said to be equipped with an innovative system for ice monitoring and icebergs detection, including infrared cameras and modern onboard radars, also getting satellite and air monitoring data.