Geographic surveys conducted in 2011 in the Russian Arctic could add as much as 1.2 million square kilometers to Russia's continental shelf, according to the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry.
The research could "facilitate Russia's right to develop rich hydrocarbon reserves" in the Arctic Ocean, the ministry said Wednesday, citing a report by Anatoly Ledovskikh, head of the subsoil resources agency.
Exploration in 2011 is expected to add 700 million tons of crude and gas condensate and 1.1 trillion cubic meters of natural gas to the country's reserves. Russia produced 511 million tons of crude and condensate and 638 billion cubic meters of gas in 2011, the ministry said.
(Bloomberg)
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