Putin to launch third stage of Bovanenkovo field by video link
MOSCOW. Dec 5 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin will take part in the official launch of the third stage of the giant Bovanenkovo oil and gas condensate field by video link on Wednesday, Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesman, told reporters.
"The third stage of the Bovanenkovo field is being launched today. In effect a huge new gas complex is opening on the Yamal Peninsula, and at the same time a gas pipeline is being launched to deliver this gas to Central Russia," Peskov said.
So this is a "remarkable event, an important one from the point of view of the national gas industry's development," he said.
"And for this reason the president will be holding a video link with Bovanenkovo today," he said.
The third stage will lift peak production at the field from 264 million to 317 million cubic meters per day, which will be more than 20% of Gazprom's peak capacity of 1.527 billion cubic meters per day this winter.
Bovanenkovo is the biggest oil and gas condensate field on the Yamal Peninsula in terms of proven gas reserves, which have been preliminarily estimated at 4.9 trillion cubic meters.
Gazprom has already invested more than 2 trillion rubles in the Yamal megaproject. Around 670 billion rubles has been spent on surface facilities at the field in the last 10 years. Gazprom has built the Bovavenkovo-Ukhta and Ukhta-Torzhok trunkline systems to deliver the field's gas to markets at a cost of 1.4 trillion rubles in prices valid for the launch of those projects in the last decade.
Two upstream facilities have already been launched at Bovanenkovo: the first stage in 2012, capacity 60 bcm of gas per year, and the second in 2014, capacity 30 bcm. The third stage's capacity is also 30 bcm. In time, gas production at Bovanenkovo will be ramped up to 140 bcm per year as Neocomian-Jurassic deposits are developed.
The third stage comprises 117 wells in 18 clusters, one gas treatment facility and two compressor complex stages, combined capacity more than 200 MW.