Russia’s Northernmost Active Oil Field Enters Commercial Production
Russia’s northernmost active oil field has entered commercial production. The Vostochno-Messoyakhsky licensed block is located in the Gydan Peninsula (Taz District, Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area). The nearest population center – the Tazovsky village – is 150 km away from the field. The project was executed despite the lack of industrial and transport infrastructure: in 2015–2016, some 400,000 tons of cargo was delivered to the field via water transport and winter roads.
Thanks to the use of state-of-the-art technical and engineering solutions, the pre-development of Vostochno-Messoyakhskoye took less than three years. Today, the project includes 50 oil development wells and a 98-km oil supply pipeline connecting the field to the Arctic Circle – Purpe oil trunkline. The pipeline is heat-insulated against low Arctic temperatures. High-viscosity oil from Vostochno-Messoyakhskoye is heated at the central oil collection facility prior to transportation. Two power plants with a total capacity of over 90 MW were built at the field and the oil delivery and acceptance point to fully satisfy the facilities’ power needs. Vostochno-Messoyakhskoye is expected to reach peak production in 2020 with 5.6 MMt of oil.
The field’s complex geological structure necessitated the use of advanced drilling, well construction and formation pressure maintenance methods. The main pay zones of Vostochno-Messoyakhskoye are terrigenous reservoirs characterized by extreme horizontal and vertical discontinuity. Novel solutions, such as multilateral well drilling, were employed to improve the field development efficiency.
Special technologies were used in field pre-development to mitigate adverse impacts on the Arctic environment. Specifically, the oil supply pipeline was placed over the ground on special supports with a temperature stabilization system installed in order to preserve the permafrost. The underwater sections of the oil pipeline were built across the rivers using the directional drilling method. Thanks to that method, the natural landscapes of the Indikyakha and Muduiyakha rivers were preserved. The oil pipeline has a number of beam crossings over water barriers and special crossings for animal migration.
“The exploration of the Russian Arctic holds strategic importance for Gazprom. Step by step, we bring into development new gas and oil fields and build the required infrastructure in this challenging region with enormous potential. This past spring, we have successfully put in operation the unique Arctic Gate oil loading terminal to ensure year-round shipments of Yamal oil. Today, we have launched commercial production from Vostochno-Messoyakhskoye, the northernmost of Russia’s active oil fields. The new Arctic project will be a key part of Russia’s powerful oil and gas complex in the circumpolar North,” Alexey Miller, chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, said.
Source: World Oil
