KomiArcticOil was formed in 1991 and is owned by KomiNeft (Russia, 40%), UkhtaNeftGasGeologia (Russia, 10%) Gulf Canada (25%), and British Gas PLC (UK, 25%).
KomiArcticOil was formed to produce oil in the Timan-Pechora Basin (Vozey and Upper Vozey fields) and is currently producing about 17,000 bbl/day. British Gas told Reuters on October 27, 1994 that output was running at around 1.3 million barrels a year, four times the amount before the Western partners became involved.
In September, 1993, KomiArcticOil received a loan of US$80 million from the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD). This loan facility has not yet been disbursed. Major industrial developments of this kind require the Bank to produce an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). This EIA should obviously have included an assessment of the pipeline to be used for the project. According to the EBRD, an EIA was done but has been classified as the property of the private companies involved. To date the EBRD has refused Greenpeace's requests for a copy of the EIA, saying that it made the report available to the partners involved in the venture. Gulf Canada has refused to provide it. It is reported to be available in the Komi region for the people of Usinsk, but has not been forthcoming.
The EBRD has a charter specifically aimed at the democratisation of the nations emerging from the breakup of the Soviet Union and collapse of the communist regimes in central and eastern Europe.
Polar Lights (Polyarnoye Siyaniye) is a company formed by Conoco (USA) and KomiNeft (Russia) in 1992. The joint venture initially invested US$375 million, and pumped its first oil from the Ardalin field in late August, 1994 -- just as the first major leaks in the pipeline were showing up. The initial rate of production is 22,000 bbl/d, and is expected to peak at about 25,000 bbl/d in 1996.
Polar Lights has been a major beneficiary of public lending institutions, receiving over a quarter of a billion dollars from the EBRD (US$90m), the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC, US$50m), the US Export-Import Bank (EXIM, US$60m), and the International Finance Corporation (IFC, US$60m).
OPIC is an agency of the US Government, responsible for supporting private overseas investment through loans, insurance, and guarantees.
Quest Energy of Chelmsford, Essex, UK joined with KomiNeft to form the KomiQuest joint venture in 1992. Quest subsequently sold shares of its equity to Callina NL of Australia (17.8%) and Star Valley of Canada (7%). Initial financing of US$10 million to get production started was provided by the Hannai Corporation, a company owned by a Qatari family.
By the end of 1993, KomiQuest expected to have exported 100,000 tonnes of oil, representing gross revenues of about US$12 million.
Production at the AmKomi joint venture, which comprises several proven oil fields, has increased from 1,200 barrels of oil per day to more than 2,000 barrels per day as of October 20, 1994.
Aminex, the Dublin-listed oil and gas exploration group, turned post-tax losses of Irish Pounds 124,860 in the second-half of 1993 into profits of Irish Pounds 481,778 (UK Pounds 476,159) for the half-year to June 30, 1994. This turnaround occured mainly because of the AmKomi profit. Aminex stock has risen from 5 pence/share to over 70 pence/share in the past two years on the basis of expectations about the profitability of its Russian oil venture.