Russia's Caspian Sea gas production rates surpass even Kremlin expectations

Journal Article · Sat Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1973 · Offshore; (United States)

OSTI ID:6749756

Bakke, D R

Russia's Caspian Sea shelves are beginning to yield gas at a rate far surpassing the most optimistic expectations of Kremlin planners. The latest official figures show that Soviet offshore gas output has nearly doubled since early 1970 and already exceeds goals set for 1975. The USSR extracted over 657 MMcfd from its Caspian fields during the first-half of 1973, ranking the Communist nation a solid fifth in world subsea gas production. Russian geologists believe that the Caspian Sea, which is more than half again as large as the Persian Gulf, has potential gas reserves of 198 trilion cu ft. Among Soviet offshore areas, its potential reserves are exceeded only by the 388 trillion cu ft estimated for the Kara Sea, located in the Arctic north of W. Siberia. With Caspian fields steadily reducing the offshore oil-output deficit suffered in the first quarter of 1973, the entire Soviet marine petroleum picture has brightened.

• OSTI ID: 6749756
• Journal Information: Offshore; (United States), Journal Name: Offshore; (United States) Vol. 33:10; ISSN OFSHA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

03 NATURAL GAS
030100 -- Natural Gas-- Reserves-- (-1989)
030300* -- Natural Gas-- Drilling
Production
& Processing
ARABIAN SEA
ARCTIC REGIONS
ASIA
CASPIAN SEA
EASTERN EUROPE
ENERGY SOURCES
EUROPE
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUEL GAS
FUELS
GAS FUELS
GASES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
INDIAN OCEAN
MINERAL RESOURCES
NATURAL GAS
NATURAL GAS DEPOSITS
NATURAL GAS FIELDS
OFFSHORE SITES
PERSIAN GULF
POLAR REGIONS
PRODUCTIVITY
RESERVES
RESOURCES
SEAS
SURFACE WATERS
USSR