“Gazprom Neft” increases extraction on arctic assets

In 2019 arctic assets of “Gazprom Neft” made a significant contribution to the overall growth in production amounts — about 30% of the company’s total oil is being extracted behind the Polar Circle. In Novoportovskoye field, due to introduction of digital and industrial technologies, as well as commissioning of new wells, the amount of extraction of liquid hydrocarbons increased by 8% — up to 7 million 700 thousand tonnes.

This year within the project “Novy Port” it is planned to reach the production level of 8 million tonnes of oil per year. Development of the northern part of the field, the prospects for development of which have already been confirmed by experimental and industrial operations, should become the basis for the growth. Formation of powerful gas infrastructure is one more direction of development of Novoportovskoye field, as the press-center of “Gazprom Neft” informs. Expansion of a gas treatment unit to a full-fledged gas-processing plant with the capacity 15 milliard cubic meters of gas per year will allow maintaining the level of beneficial use of associated petroleum gas at 95%. In 2019 the amount of gas use in the field increased by more than 31% — up to 8 milliard 590 million cubic meters.

The amount of oil extraction in the East-Messoyakhskoye field, which “Gazprom Neft” is developing jointly with “Rosneft”, grew by more than 22% (up to 5 million 600 thousand tonnes of oil equivalent). The systematic growth of operational results is ensured with use of advanced engineering and geological-technical solutions for development of hard-to-recover reserves of viscous oil. Full-scale development of Achimov deposits, reserves of which are estimated at 35 million tonnes of oil, and resources — at 111 million tonnes, was started in the field last year. Deep wells drilled into these formations show the production rate 5 to 8 times higher than the average for the asset.

Involvement of low-capacity reservoirs and reserves in marginal zones of the East-Messoyakhskoye field is one of prospective tasks in development of the asset for 2020. In addition, this year within the project on development of gas infrastructure of the asset it is planned to input to operation a compressor station with the capacity of 1 milliard 500 million cubic meters of gas per year, a 47-kilometer gas pipeline and an underground storage of associated petroleum gas in the West-Messoyakhskoye field. 

The amount of extraction in Prirazlomnoye field in 2019 remained at the stable level and amounted to 3 million 140 thousand tonnes of oil. More than 12 million tonnes of ARCO oil were extracted and 19 wells were drilled in the Barents Sea during six years of uninterrupted operation of the platform “Prirazlomnaya”. Other three wells will be built and input to operation at the first Russian offshore project in the Arctic this year.  

“Development of extractive fields in the Arctic zone of Russia is a strategic bet of “Gazprom Neft”. The huge reserves of the region ensure the resource future of both the company and the entire domestic oil and gas industry. Already now the share of arctic oil in the total portfolio of “Gazprom Neft” exceeded 30%. Extraction of hydrocarbons in severe conditions of the Arctic region is associated with many technological and organizational difficulties, but active development of arctic extractive fields and formation of new powerful production clusters in high latitudes by the company shows that we are successfully coping with the task, guaranteeing the company’s growth in operational and financial results and gaining valuable experience in fulfillment of large-scale projects that are unique in many ways”, said Vadim Yakovlev, the deputy director general for exploration and production of “Gazprom Neft”.