Page 12 - FSUOGM Week 43 2019

FSUOGM PROJECTS & COMPANIES FSUOGM
Gazprom-Wintershall JV hits peak capacity
RUSSIA
The joint venture is now flowing 10 bcm per year of gas from Achimov layers at the Urengoy field.
RUSSIA’S Gazprom and Germany’s Winter- shall Dea have boosted output at their 50:50 Achimgaz joint venture in Western Siberia to a plateau level of 10bn cubic metres per year, fol- lowing an extensive drilling campaign.
Achimgaz has rights to Achimov Block 1A, covering Achimov formations some 3,700 metres deep at the super-giant Urengoy gas field. In a statement, Wintershall said the final wells in a 108-well development programme at the site had been completed in October, raising produc- tion to the target plateau rate.
“All project partners can be proud of the result,” Wintershall board member Thilo Wie- land commented. “The goals also remain ambitious in the long term: Achimgaz is contin- uously working on technological and economic optimisations.”
The Urengoy field, one of Russia’s largest gas producers, has been in operation since the late 1970s. Like many large fields brought on stream during the Soviet era it is now considered mature, with some of its shallower reservoirs reaching depletion.
To maintain output, Gazprom is now focus- ing on the development of its deeper Achimov layers. The Achimov formation spans most of Western Siberia and is considered challenging to develop, characterised by thin sandstone res- ervoirs with low permeability and high pressure
and temperatures.
Gazprom and Wintershall set up Achimgaz
in 2003 and embarked on pilot drilling five years later. Commercial production was started in 2011, with the project yielding a total of 43 bcm of gas and 19mn tonnes of condensate to date.
The next step for the pair will be expanding the capacity of a processing plant that handles Achimgaz’s gas, the German firm said. Expe- rience gained at Achimov 1A can be applied at blocks 4A and 5A, operated by a separate Gaz- prom-Wintershall JV Achimov Development, it noted.
Wintershall acquired a 25% stake in 4A and 5A and launched development drilling there earlier this year. Neither the Germany com- pany nor Gazprom have said how much gas can be extracted from the blocks. According to Gazprom’s website, however, total output from Blocks 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A and 5A is set to reach 36.8 bcm per year. The company is developing 2A on its own, where production is projected to hit 8.7 bcm per year, while 3A remains undeveloped.
Gazprom is also looking to bring on board OMV as a partner at 4A and 5A, with the Aus- trian firm set to secure a 25% stake in the pro- jects. The transaction is currently anticipated to close by the end of 2019, several years behind schedule. ™
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 43 30•October•2019