Rosneft has completed the drilling of the first super deep exploration and appraisal well Maria-1 on the Zapadno-Chernomorskaya license area offshore the Black sea. The water depth at the drilling site reaches 2109 meters. The actual well depth is 5265 meters. Drilling this well discovered a unique carbonate structure with 300 meters gross interval. This structure constitutes a fractured reservoir that is highly likely to contain hydrocarbons. These results instill confidence in the possibility to discover large oil and gas fields in the Russian Black Sea waters. The Company plans to conduct a thorough geological processing of the materials and to continue exploration and appraisal works on the license areas.

Rosneft carries out this project on drilling the first exploration well on the Zapadno-Chernomorskaya license area together with Eni, Rosneft's strategic partner. Drilling preparation included 4000 running kilometers of 2D seismic survey and over 3000 square kilometers of 3D seismic survey as well as comprehensive engineering and geological studies.

About Rosneft

Rosneft is the leader of Russia’s petroleum industry and the world’s largest publicly traded petroleum company. Company’s main activities include prospecting and exploration of hydrocarbon deposits, oil, gas and gas-condensate production, upstream offshore projects, processing, as well as oil, gas, and product marketing in Russia and abroad. The Company is included in the list of strategic companies and organizations of Russia. Company’s largest shareholder (69.50% of the equity) is ROSNEFTEGAZ OJSC, fully owned by the Russian Government, while BP holds 19.75% of shares, one share belongs to the state represented by Federal Agency for State Property Management, whereas the remaining shares are free floating.