Rosneft is resurrecting efforts for a huge 3D seismic campaign in a shallow-water block near Sakhalin Island off Russia's far east, as the oil giant hunts a lower price for the programme.

According to a tender disclosure notice, posted by Rosneft’s subsidiary RN-Shelf-Arctika on the affiliated Tek-Torg platform, the company is now prepared to pay almost 1.1 billion roubles ($14 million) for the job, due to be carried out in the Okhotsk Sea during the 2021 ice-free summer season.

Rosneft had previously tried to select a contractor for the job during the first quarter of this year, offering to pay 987 million roubles for the same project.

The assignment calls for the collection of 1170 square kilometres of 3D seismic data on the Bogatinsky block at water depths between 15 and 200 metres. The job may also include bathymetric surveys of the sea floor, the subsidiary said.

According to tender conditions, Rosneft could still be looking to hire a regional contractor, Dalmorneftegeofizika, a subsidiary of state-owned oilfield service provider Rosgeologia, for the job.

Dalmorneftegeofizika operates an outdated seismic vessel, Orient Explorer, capable of towing just four streamers, which is two to four times fewer than industry standards for modern units.

Rosneft said in the disclosure notice that it will require a vessel with between four and 12 streamers, putting the Orient Explorer back in the bidding process.

Rosneft’s access to modern seismic vessels from international contractors has been limited since 2014 when the company and chairman Igor Sechin fell under US and European sanctions in response to the Russian annexation of the Crimea Peninsula from Ukraine.

The Bogatinsky block, which Rosneft secured in 2016, measures about 3000 square kilometres.

It is located in shallow waters close to the east of Sakhalin Island and to the south of large oil and gas blocks that are operated in the north-east of the island by the ExxonMobil-led Sakhalin 1 and Gazprom-led Sakhalin 2 consortia.

Earlier in December, Rosneft revealed that it is preparing to sell its regional subsidiary Sakhalinmorneftegaz under its asset optimisation plan.

Sechin said that the oil producer will now focus on large and capital-intensive greenfield projects in East Siberia, relying on wide-scale governmental support and massive tax concessions in its exploration and development drive.

In October, Russian parliament already approved oil production tax concessions for company’s East Siberian developments, while cancelling tax privileges for other Russian oil producers.

However, earlier this week, the Finance Ministry said it will propose the parliament to remove a requirement to pay another major levy, crude oil export tax, for Rosneft on its greenfields in this remote region.

Exploration

Rosneft opens large seismic tender for Sakhalin offshore block