On April 12 - 13 VNIIGAZ has hosted an International Conference “Russian Offshore Oil & Gas development: Arctic and Far East”.

The conference’s work has been attended by more than 200 representatives of Russian and foreign companies.

Within the plenary session, Boris Nikitin, First Deputy Head of Gazprom’s Gas, Gas Condensate and Oil Production Department, reported on Gazprom’s Program Implementation on RF Continental Shelf by 2030.

In particular, Boris Nikitin underlined that hydrocarbon potential of the Russian Shelf is a new stage for Russia’s energy complex development in the twenty first century.

The initially summed extracted resources of the RF shelf amount to nearly 100 billion tons of fuel equivalent. In addition, basic hydrocarbon resources are concentrated on the shelf of the Arctic Seas with 55.8 per cent for the Kara Sea Shelf and 37.3 per cent for the Barents Sea Shelf.

At the present, Gazprom’s activity on the Russia’s continental shelf are mainly concentrated on the North-Eastern territory of the Barents Sea (Shtokman gas condensate field etc.), South-Eastern territory of the Pechora Sea (the Prirazlomnoye & Dolginsky oil fields) as well as the Kara Sea (the Ob- Tazov Bay, the Yamal Peninsula Shelf). Besides, Gazprom takes part in exploration on the north and central Caspii and the Sakhalin Island Shelf as the most perspective territory for Gazprom’s works.

The reporter paid special attention to Gazprom’s business strategy on the RF Shelf that assumes the complex method to develop the Barents, Kara and Pechora Sea fields as well as the Ob- Tazov Bay. The said method will be based on fields’ group development that will help to optimize costs and create conditions for joint development of large and small offshore fields using general infrastructure.

Therefore, the Barents Sea Shelf assumes the primary Shtokman field development. The Ledovoye, Ludlovskoye, Fersmanovskoye and Demidovskoye fields located nearby Shtokman field will be explored as its satellites.

The development of the Pechora Sea Shelf plans to have three group units concentrating around the Prirazlomnoe, Dolginsky and Medinskoye basic fields.

The development of the Yamal Peninsula supposes to unite fields around the Leningradskoye and Rusanovskoye large fields.

Fields’ development in the Ob- Tazov Bay offshore area (the Kamennomisskoye Sea, the North- Kamennomisskoye, the Ob and the Chugoryahinskoye) envisages their joint development with the Parusovoye and Semakovskoye land fileds.

In conclusion, Boris Nikitin emphasized that Gazprom’s large-scale strategy implementation in the Arctic Region enables the company to provide extra production of more than 200 bcm of gas per year.

Reference:

The conference “Russian Offshore Oil & Gas development: Arctic and Far East” was attended by the representatives from Gazprom, VNIIGAZ, Gazflot, Sevmorneftegaz, Central Design Bureau for Marine Engineering “Rubin”, Central Design Bureau Open Joint Stock Co. “Lazurit”, BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Hydro, Schlumberger, Shell, Statoil etc.

The reports of participants reflect the most relevant issues for Sea Field Projects’ Development: the Arctic projects, new technologies, industrial security and etc.

Within the conference, Technical Sections will host meetings on Sea Fields Development; Extraction & Transmission of Resources, LNG Production, Security, Management and Monitoring.

VNIIGAZ has been established in 1948. VNIIGAZ has acquired the status of Gazprom’s Center of Research, Development and Design in the field of raw material resource base, production, transmission, complex gas & gas condensate processing, ecological and industrial secure functioning of the gas sector facilities.

In 2001 VNIIGAZ acquired the status of scientific center. VNIIGAZ is comprised of more than 1500 highly qualified specialists (including 50 Doctors of Sciences and 200 Candidates of Sciences). VNIIGAZ manages a postgraduate course and two Expert Councils of the High State Attestation Commission of the Russian Federation.

Today more than fifty countries provide oil & gas production at sea fields. Annual share of gas and oil production at sea accounts correspondingly for 32 and 35 per cent. Last years the largest growth of hydrocarbon deposits was in offshore area as well as large fields were discovered on the shelves of Norway, Russia, Brazil, Nigeria, Vietnam, Angola and the Gulf of Mexico. The world witnesses the tendency of investment increase for deepwater fields’ exploration and development.