`Foreign companies are stronger in this type of drilling so it’s faster to do it with Western help,´ said Alexei Vashkevich, head of geological exploration and resource base development at Gazprom Neft. “Can they be excluded? Yes, they can. Can we do it without them? Yes, we can. It will be a little harder and will take a little longer, but it’s possible.’
Bazhenov is a layer of ancient organic matter that’s the source rock for most of the crude pumped in West Siberia. That gives the formation the advantage of being close to pipelines serving Russia’s largest oil-producing region.