493. 
Russia is continuing to drill exploratory holes on Kolguyev Island 
in the south central Barents Sea. Drilling began in 1972 and indica- 
tions of hydrocarbons were found in one of the first wells drilled 
near the island’s southern coast. 
To the east, on the Kara Sea coast of the huge Yamal Peninsula 
much exploration activity has occurred. Eight gas fields have been 
discovered on the peninsula since 1964 and the largest, Kharasavei, 
extends for about 16 kilometers beneath the Kara Sea floor. The 
giant field was discovered in May 1974, by a well drilled only 100 
meters from the water’s edge at Cape Kharasavei. The wildcat well 
tested at 35 million cubic feet per day below 1,575 meters and total 
Kharasavei reserves have since been estimated at almost 35.3 trillion 
cubic feet of gas. Additional drilling has been planned.*° The main 
difficulty with offshore drilling in the region is that the Kara Sea 
is ice-choked for about 9 months of the year and fog is also prevalent 
much of the time. On the other hand, Kara Sea waters are relatively 
shallow, averaging less than 120 meters. The Kara Sea is about twice 
the size of the Caspian Sea with promising petroliferous regions ex- 
tending westward from the Yamal Peninsula to the Novaya Zemlya 
Basin off the east coast of the big island of Novaya Zemlya, which 
separates the Kara and Barents Seas. Prospective structures also occur 
north and northeast of the Yamal Peninsula and along the entire 
length of the Ob River gulf. Russian geologists estimate that the Kara 
Sea has 388 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves, accounting for perhaps 
nearly half of the total estimated potential gas reserves in all of 
the Soviet offshore areas.*’ 
None of the Yamal Peninsula fields is yet on production and the 
isolation and climatic conditions of the Kara Sea region will probably 
prevent any quick exploitation. Exploration is advancing, however, 
and the Soviets feel that they are now capable of providing the 
technology for offshore petroleum production under even the most 
rigorous Arctic conditions.*” 
In the Far East, there are definite indications that oil and gas 
occur offshore from Sakhalin Island. The first evidence of onshore 
oil was found in 1880 and the Katangli field on the northeastern 
coast has been in production since 1929. Almost all of Sakhalin’s 
current oil and gas output remains in the Katangli area or farther 
north in several fields centered around the city of Okha. Oil and 
gas shows have been found along almost the entire length of the 
eastern coast of the island (sea of Okhotsk) and also in the far 
south and in scattered locations on the western coast. The sea of 
Okhotsk has almost the same area as the Gulf of Mexico and the 
Russians feel that the two bodies may be somewhat comparable in 
offshore oil and gas potential as well.°** However, Sakhalin has never 
been a big oil and gas producer. Crude oil output has been only 
about 48,000 barrels per day and has remained stagnant in spite 
of the introduction of tertiary recovery methods. There are 39 oil 
and gas fields on Sakhalin, each generally quite small although often 
2 Rue Will Explore Gas Field North of the Arctic Circle, Offshore December, 1974, p. 122. 
82 Tbid. 
53 Japanese Have New Oil Target—Promising Sakhalin Island. The Oil and Gas Journal, June 10, 
1974, p. 94. 
