Oil output from Russian arctic waning

SALEKHARD, Russia, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- A lack of infrastructure in the arctic north of Russia is putting a moderate throttle on the region's oil production, an area governor said.

Dmitry Kobylkin, governor of the Yamal-Nenets autonomous district, told Russian news agency Itar-TASS regional production could grow along with regional development, but the lack of infrastructure was curbing year-on-year output.

Last year, he said an estimated 158 million barrels of oil were produced from the Yamal Peninsula. Full-year 2015 is expected at around 152 million barrels.

"The drop in oil production, despite the fact that there are sufficient reserves in the area, is caused only by infrastructure constraints that hamper commercial development of new deposits," the governor said.

Oil work in the pristine arctic environment has raised concerns from environmental advocacy groups. Gazprom Neft said facilities at the peninsula were designed to reduce environmental impact.

Greenpeace last year used its Arctic Sunrise vessel to gain access to the Prirazlomnaya rig, deployed by Russian energy company Gazprom for work in the country's arctic waters. Two freelance journalists and 28 Greenpeace activists, dubbed the Arctic 30, were held by Russian authorities on piracy charges in 2013.

Trends for oil production in the Russian north are in contrast to the rest of the country. Novatek, the largest private crude oil producer in Russia, reported a 40 percent increase in production year-on-year.