The search for new Russian oil

With output outstripping discoveries, Russia must increase exploration. Most prospective, under-explored regions present major commercial and technical challenges and it may be some time before developments take off. But Lukoil claims it has opened a new oil province in the north Caspian Sea. And in addition to Yamal and Irkutsk, the Sakha republic could augment the country’s immense gas reserves, writes Isabel Gorst