September 25, 2014. Ufa, Russia. At an auction for the right to conduct geological exploration, prospecting and production of hydrocarbons held on September 23 by the Department of Subsoil Use of the Volga Federal District (Privolzhsknedra), Bashneft won the rights to the Leonovskiy subsoil area. Bashneft will make a one-time payment of 28.3 million roubles for the area.

The Leonovskiy subsoil area has an area of 153.7 sq. km and is situated in the west of the Republic of Bashkortostan in the Buzdyaksky and Blagovarsky districts.
In the east, the Leonovskiy area borders the Sanninskoye oilfield developed by the Tuimazaneft oil and gas production department of LLC Bashneft-Dobycha.

According to Privolzhsknedra, 2D seismic surveys and exploration drilling conducted from the 1950s until 1999 at the Leonovskiy subsoil area uncovered seven promising formations with Ñ3 recoverable oil resources totalling 1.9 million tonnes.

Tectonically, the Leonovskiy area is situated on the border of the north-eastern side of the South Tartar roof and the Blagoveschenskaya depression. Commercial oil reserves at the area have been found in highly productive Kynovskian and Pashiyskian sandstones in the terrigenous Devonian strata, Bobrikovskian deposits of the Lower Carboniferous strata and Tournaisian limestone.