Arctic Offshore won’t be developed in my lifetime, says Leonid Fedun

Arctic Offshore won’t be developed in my lifetime, says Leonid Fedun

JILLIAN WARD

MOSCOW (Bloomberg) -- Lukoil's V.P., Leonid Fedun has said that the development of crude reserves on a significant scale won’t happen in his lifetime; it’s just too expensive.

“I’ve always been skeptical as far as the Arctic projects are concerned,” says Leonid Fedun. “If something happens, it’s not within my lifetime.”

Brent crude oil prices have tumbled almost $45 a barrel since June, losing 7% alone after OPEC declined to cut production in the face of surging U.S. shale production.

Igor Sechin, Rosneft’s CEO and an ally of President Vladimir Putin, has spearheaded drilling in the Arctic Ocean, claiming a billion-barrel find earlier this year. He has said, the area could become one of the world’s most important oil-producing regions.

Fedun said, using technology to wring every possible drop from Russia’s existing fields is a far better use of capital than virgin development in the Arctic Ocean. "That’s more efficient and simpler rather than drilling in the Arctic,” added Fedun.