ANOTHER U.S.-U.S.S.R. VENTURE SHAPING UP
U.S. and Soviet partners are forming a joint venture to develop oil and gas reserves in the Bakhilovsk region of western Siberia.
Golden Mammoth, a joint venture of Anglo-Suisse Production (Cyprus) Ltd. and the Soviet oil and gas production association Varyeganneftegaz (VNG), plans to drill more than 500 wells in Bakhilovsk, Verkan Kolik Yegan, Verenska, and North Khokhryakovsk fields. Partners estimate the deal involves recoverable reserves of about 2 billion bbl.
The announcement comes as White Nights, a joint venture of Anglo-Suisse LP and VNG, is preparing to lift oil it produced in western Siberia's Tagrin and West Varyegan fields. White Nights partners say it will be the first oil produced in the U.S.S.R. by an American-Soviet joint venture.
GOLDEN MAMMOTH'S PLANS
The four fields involved in Golden Mammoth contain only about 100 wells, "so we'll mainly be drilling new wells," Anglo-Suisse's Gil Labbe said.
Anglo-Suisse Cyprus and VNG are preparing a feasibility study and foundation documents for the Golden Mammoth venture. Officials expect to complete registration this year.
They said field operations will begin by January 1992 in Bakhilovsk and Verkan Kolik Yegan, where Soviet crews have drilled the most wells.
Productive Cretaceous-Jurassic zones occur at depths of 8,000-9,000 ft in the four Golden Mammoth fields. Anglo-Suisse said the strata is similar to that targeted by White Nights in West Varyegan and Tagrin.
Bakhilovsk area reservoirs mainly produce oil. But Golden Mammoth officials believe joint venture fields also have gas potential.
Anglo-Suisse and VNG last year began discussing the possibility of forming a joint venture to develop Bakhilovsk area reserves after Anglo-Suisse bought a package of seismic and other field data from MD Seis, Houston. MD Seis is a joint venture of the Soviet Ministry of Oil & Gas Industry and Professional Geophysics Inc., Houston.
Anglo-Suisse Cyprus, a subsidiary of Anglo-Suisse LP, Houston, and VNG are 50-50 partners in Golden Mammoth. Phibro Energy Inc., a subsidiary of Salomon Inc., owns 20% of Anglo-Suisse LP.
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