Russ Oil-Gas

23 January 2009 - The Moscow Times - Gazprom said Thursday that its hydrocarbon reserves on its Arctic Shelf will increase by 5.6 billion tons of fuel equivalent between this year and 2020. Gazprom said Russia currently has around 100 billion tons of fuel equivalent on the enormous shelf, which covers many time zones and is partly frozen. Around 80 percent of these are gas. "In 2005-2008, Gazprom's reserves on the shelf grew by 1.5 billion tons of fuel equivalent as a result of geological exploration work," Gazprom said. "The expected growth of Gazprom's hydrocarbon reserves on the Russian shelf in 2009-2020 will be around 5.6 billion tons of fuel equivalent," it said. Rosneft and several other firms will also operate on the shelf. Last year, the total hydrocarbon reserves held by Gazprom rose by a record 10 percent after the government granted it 10 major gas deposits and its oil reserves were boosted.