Russia’s state-owned Gazprom said it has made its fourth natural gas discovery in the last two years on the shelf of the Yamal Peninsula in the Kara Sea.

An exploratory well reached a flow rate of about 600,000 cubic meters/d (21.2 million cubic feet/d), which “proves that the new deposit contains substantial amounts of gas,” Gazprom management said last week. 

The latest discovery could improve the outlook for liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports and provide additional supplies to the Russian domestic market. The 16.5 million metric ton/year Yamal LNG export project now uses resources in the South Tambey field in the peninsula. South Tambey’s proven and probable reserves are estimated at 32.7 Tcf.

The newly discovered reserves are in the Leningradskoye field off the...