East-Prinovozemelsky field East-Prinovozemelsky field The East-Prinovozemelsky field (also referred as Vostochno-Prinovozemelskoye structure – meaning: East of Novaya Zemlya structure) is a gigantic undeveloped Arctic oil and gas field located in the South Kara basin of the continental shelf of Russia, in the South Kara Sea between the Yamal Peninsula and Novaya Zemlya island. It is the continuation of the continental West Siberian hydrocarbon province. The field is divided into three license blocks: EPNZ-1, EPNZ2, and ENPZ-3. In October 2010, licenses for all three blocks were awarded to Russian oil company Rosneft. In January 2011, Rosneft announced that it will form a strategic
Novaya Zemlya Russians knew of Novaya Zemlya from the 11th century, when hunters from Novgorod visited the area. For western Europeans, the search for the Northern Sea Route in the 16th century led to its exploration. The first visit from a west European was by Hugh Willoughby in 1553. Dutch explorer Willem Barentsz reached the west coast of Novaya Zemlya in 1594, and in a subsequent expedition of 1596 rounded the Northern point and wintered on the Northeast coast. (Barentsz died during the expedition, and may have been buried on the Northern island.) During a later voyage by Fyodor Litke in 1821–1824,