Gazprom Neft and LUKOIL are establishing a joint venture (JV) to develop a major oil and gas cluster in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug's Nadym-Pur-Tazovsky district, under an agreement signed by Alexander Dyukov (CEO, Gazprom Neft PJSC), and Vagit Alekperov, (President and CEO, PJSC LUKOIL), in the presence of Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Management Committee, Gazprom PJSC.
[Link]The joint venture will be created through Gazprom Neft subsidiary Meretoyakhaneftegaz, with the new production cluster being centred around the Tazovskoye oil and gas condensate field, brought into production by Gazprom Neft in June this year. The new joint venture's activities will also include developing the Severo-Samburgskoye and Meretoyakhinskoye fields, as well as two Zapadno-Yubileiny license blocks. Total reserves initially in place at this new cluster stand at more than one billion tonnes of oil and around 500 billion cubic metres of gas.
Meretoyakhaneftegaz is the first asset to be managed by Gazprom Neft and LUKOIL on a parity (50:50) basis. A considerable proportion of reserves initially in place lie within the Achimov Formation, and are categorised as hard-to-recover reserves.
The Tazovskoye field, commissioned by Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexander Novak in 2021, was the oil and gas field in Russia to have infrastructure installed under the severe constraints arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. Additional appraisal remains ongoing at the remaining blocks at this asset, on which basis the development strategy for the cluster will be put in place.
The parties plan to prepare detailed binding documentation on establishing the joint venture, and to secure all necessary corporate and regulatory approvals, over the next few months.
Concurrently with this the companies will continue investigating further opportunities for expanding their collaboration on a range of promising projects throughout Russia in those locations in which they operate.
Gazprom Neft's production cluster in the Nadym-Pur-Tazovsky region includes the Tazovskoye, Meretoyakhinskoye and Severo-Samburgskoye fields, as well as two Zapadno-Yubileiny blocks.
The Tazovskoye field (located 525 kilometres from Salekhard) was discovered in 1962. Reserves initially in place make this among the largest fields in Western Siberia, with 419 million tonnes of oil and 225 billion cubic metres of gas. The field's complex geological structure has resulted in full-scale development of this asset being delayed. The Tazovskoye oil and gas condensate field's reserves occur in an 'oil rim' - a thick layer of oil between a 'gas cap' and a water horizon - demanding the construction of high-tech wells, similar to offshore wells in their complexity.
Gazprom Neft began commercial development of this field in 2021. Peak annual production at the Tazovskoye field is expected to reach 1.7 million tonnes of oil and eight billion cubic metres of gas.
The Meretoyakhinskoye field is in early production. Major geological prospecting works have been undertaken, on which basis the geological model of this asset is being updated, and a development and infrastructure-solutions programme put in place.
Oil initially in place at the Severo-Samburgskoye field is estimated at 460 million tonnes. Exploration wells at the field have been re-tested, high-quality 3D-seismic undertaken, and two horizontal wells (involving multi-stage fracking) drilled. Planned further geological prospecting investigations are now being updated in line with information gathered, as is the asset's development strategy.
The Zapadno-Yubileiny blocks form part of the Nerutinskaya exploration zone in the Nadymsky district of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, where extended geological and geophysical downhole surveys remain ongoing. Geological prospecting works are expected to be complete by 2024, on which basis the business case for this project will be updated.
* The Achimov Formation refers to strata located in the lower part of Cretaceous (chalk) deposits. Achimovsky reservoirs occur throughout practically the entire West-Siberian Basin, over an area covering more than 900,000 square kilometres. The thickest formations have been identified in the Nadymsky and Purovsky districts of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. Achimovsky strata have a complex geological structure, requiring the use of sophisticated technologies in development. Specialists estimate total reserves at the Achimov Formation to be in the order of 60 billion tonnes of oil.
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OAO Gazprom Neft published this content on 16 September 2021 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 16 September 2021 15:11:03 UTC.