"Yamal Oil and Gas 2014". Development of the Arctic is the work for tens of years

The third International conference "Yamal Oil and Gas 2014" is working in Salekhard. Already for three years this event has gathered representatives of basic extracting companies and scientists in the capital of Yamal.

More than 100 top-managers Russian and international oil and gas companies arrived to the conference to share experience of exploration of underwater resources of the Arctic and development of oil and gas fields of Yamal. This time none of agreements are signed for the first time during the history of the conferences, but the conference did not lose its significance, on the contrary, it gains constructivism. During two days the participants of the forum are conducting the open dialogue, which finally will serve to solving of the state task on development of Arctic extractive fields. By the confession of the organizers of the conference, during three years they succeeded to overcome inner privacy of extracting companies and to lead them to dialogue. By the words of Oksana Fedoseyeva, the managing director of Vostok Capital, when the conference was organized for the first time, it was very difficult to invite all the directors general – their busyness is understood. In the second year they came to the activity with big interest. This time there was not need to explain significance and value of the forum. Companies are arriving in whole teams. It seems that, on the background of the all-Russian task on increase of extraction of energy resources, they at last understood the taste of the unique opportunity not to compete but together to search for more effective decisions of different problems, as she notes. The phrase "understood the taste" very precisely reflects the atmosphere of the forum. White nights enchanted the directors general, and talks are continued after midnight. In their opinion, today it is not obligatory to keep all the secrets, it is more effective to borrow innovations and experience of colleagues. Such increased interest of the participants to each other is clear – inculcation of technical decisions already tested by colleagues can help to economize 5-8 percent on full-scale projects. And at the present time there are tens of questions, additions, clarifications. Prospects of the mega-projects are being discussed on 7 thematic sessions – the plant of "Yamal LNG" and the port of Sabetta, extraction of hydrocarbons on the shelf and on water area of the Kara Sea, construction of the Northern Latitudinal Route, inculcation of innovative technologies at integrated development of extractive fields and problems of ecology. Projects impress with their ambitiousness and scope. But about Bovanenkovo it was also said that it would not be conquered. And today the director general of the company "Gazprom dobycha Nadym" Sergey Menshikov in details is telling about prospects of Bovanenkovo field, total reserves of which make 4 trillion and 900 milliard cubic meters of gas. The project of development of the field is counted on 28 years. By the words of Sergey Menshikov, since the beginning of industrial exploitation of Bovanenkovo field the amount of marketable gas production made more than 40 milliard cubic meters of gas, and stable condensate – more than 32 thousand tons. At achievement for maximum capacity, yearly extraction of gas will make 115 milliard cubic meters per year, and extraction of gas condensate – almost 100 thousand tons. In the prospect there is Kharasavey gas condensate field in Yamal. On 30 percent it goes under water of the Kara Sea. It is planned to start industrial development in 2018-2019. The amount of gas extraction there, as it is expected, will exceed 30 milliard cubic meters of gas per year. Fulfillment of projects of development of gas fields on the Yamal peninsula and adjoining water areas together with building of the system of trunk gas pipelines will assist to strengthening of economic stability of the country and, as a result, to strengthening of its political influence, as Sergey Menshikov notes. The director general of "Yamal LNG" Gleb Luxemburg continued the theme of development of the Yamal peninsula. By his information, 16 exploitation wells were drilled. Drilling was conducted without difficulties and even ahead of the schedule of the cycle of building. For the first line of the plant it needs to drill 48 wells, 59 wells are planned for startup, as Gleb Luxemburg reports. By the way, he is distinguished with the biggest activity. Here he is trying to learn from Menshikov the information about load-bearing capacity of screw anchor piles, which were used by "Gazprom dobycha Nadym" in one of its fields. Having heard the answer, he sighed with disappointment – it would not be possible to economize on piles. Of course, difficult and financially expensive projects always cause a lot of debates and disbelief of skeptics. However, the full-scale projects "Yamal LNG" and the port of Sabetta have already passed "the point of no-return". The chief of the board of construction at MRTS JSC ("Mezhregiontruboprovodstroy JSC") Ivan Makovskiy notes that building of such hydro-technical construction in the arctic zone of Russia was never conducted before. The company already constructed four berths. This is unique experience for the enterprise, and he wants to share it with the participants of the conference. Among the basic problems, with which the specialists faced on the stage of building of the port, he marks climate problems – very low temperatures, strong winds, snow storms and complicated geological conditions. All this demanded for use of more powerful equipment than it had been planned in the beginning. Anyway, the basic amount of work was fulfilled, as Ivan Makovskiy underlines, actually, the port already receives ships and tens of thousands tons of cargoes. Work on infrastructure of the port is being conducted. As he adds, by the conditions of the contract, the company takes all additional financial obligations; therefore building risks will not be reflected on the cost of the project. The head of projects on business development of Chelyabinsk Pipe-rolling Plant Vladimir Kolesnikov does not hide his interest to the forum – the enterprise hopes to extend its participation in arctic projects. Prospects of development of the Arctic are huge, and the enterprise is ready to suggest different innovative products. In particular, it touches upon special types of pipes of big diameter made of cold-resistant steels with special heat-protective coating, as he says. The participants of the conference aroused the issue about cost of domestic products for oil and gas complex and their foreign analogues, which turn out to be cheaper even with consideration of their delivery. By the words of Vladimir Kolesnikov, it is a little sad that domestic enterprises cannot suggest better conditions. But often it is connected with so that enterprises are town-forming and socially responsible. Some manufacturers of pipe production started leaving the Russian market exclusively because of political reasons. Therefore, the formed situation is scrutinized on the plant as one of preferences, as Vladimir Kolesnikov underlines. One more interesting theme is about difficult Turonian gas of Yuzhno-Russkoye field. The director general of "Severneftegazprom" Stanislav Tsygankov is telling about fulfillment of the first successful project in Russia on extraction of difficult Turonian gas, organizational, financial-economical and technological decisions. Geological and technical information received in the course of fulfillment of the project on experimental and industrial development of a Turonian gas deposit of Yuzhno-Russkoye field can serve the basis for creation of the unified concept on development of difficult gas reserves in general on fields of the group of companies "Gazprom", as he explains. The plenty of questions. The participants are beyond the agenda. The organizers are promising: the conference dedicated exclusively to this theme will take place already in September in Yugra. Another sensation – reindeer are blamed in worsening of ecological situation in Yamal, not gas-extracting complex. Influence on ecology at maintenance of extractive fields is point-contact and inconsiderable. Scientists went 12 thousand kilometers on foot, other 14 thousand kilometers they overcame on boats, and their conclusions are unanimous – reindeer herds should be smaller. Load of pastures is 4 times exceeded, and loss of deer being observed this year was expected. The director of the Institute of ecology of plants and animals at the Ural branch of the RAS Vladimir Bogdanov suggests buying out deer. In Yamal their number should not exceed 150 thousand animals. However, he does not have an answer to the question, how to overcome mentality of indigenous population, according to which the larger reindeer number is the better. Also, the situation with utilization of associated petroleum gas has changed considerably since the day of conducting of the first conference "Yamal Oil and Gas". After increasing legislative pressure the amount of penalty sanctions collected by the Rosprirodnadzor (Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resource Usage) on Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug only for burning of associated petroleum gas in 2012 made 1 milliard and 500 million rubles, and in 2013 – 2 milliard and 500 million rubles. Considerable sums hit the pocket of subsoil users. Recently the results were summed up – till the end of 2013 the basic amount of enterprises came to the 95-percent level of utilization of associated petroleum gas. Somewhere the results are higher. Now the average index in the region makes 92 percent. This information is given by the acting head of Rosprirodnadzor on Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug Natalia Kolesnikova. With consideration of big reserves of oil and gas Yamal will stay the energy heart of Russia during as minimum 100 years and, probably, longer. Thus, not corporate secrets and ambitions but constructive dialogue is becoming the main factor in achievement for the final aim.

Translated from Lilia Gorokhova The News Agency "Sever-Press"