Gazprom prepared to produce 1.59 bcm of gas/day at winter peak - source
MOSCOW. Oct 27 (Interfax) - Gazprom is prepared to ensure peak daily gas production of 1.59 billion cubic meters in the 2016/2017 heating season, a source familiar with the situation told Interfax.
In the 2015/2016 heating season, the Russian gas giant reported peak production of 1.556 bcm on October 22, 2015.
Gazprom's management board held a meeting on Wednesday devoted to preparations for the winter. As part of comprehensive preparations for the fall and winter season, all 16 sets of scheduled maintenance and repair work have been done on the infrastructure of the Unified Gas Supply System. Particular attention, as usual, was devoted to the gas transport system.
In the first nine months of 2016, major repairs were done on about 660 km of gas pipelines and 262 gas distribution stations. In-line inspections were carried out on 18,100 km of gas pipelines, 30 underwater crossings were repaired and 741 were inspected. The company also carried out 353 repairs at gas pumping plants and conducted major repairs on 53.3 km of process pipelines at compressor stations.
The company has also developed the system of underground gas storage (UGS). By the beginning of the 2016/2017 fall and winter period, maximum potential output at the start of the offtake season has been increased to a record 801.3 mcm of gas per day. The increase in output capacity is comparable to daily winter gas consumption in some regions of Russia, such as Bryansk and Novosibirsk. In the six years since the 2010/2011 fall and winter period, Gazprom has increased maximum potential daily output at UGS in Russia by 29.2%.
Work has been completed on the creation of an operating reserve of gas at Russian UGS in the amount of 72.098 bcm. Taking into account UGS located in Armenia and Belarus, Gazprom's operating gas reserve will be about 73.3 bcm.
In order to ensure reliable operation of Gazprom's gas production units, repairs were completed by the start of October at 88 comprehensive and preliminary gas preparation plants. There are also plans to launch gas booster compressor stations with combined capacity of 336 MW and 130 new production wells this year, including at the Bovanenkovskoye, Urengoi and Yamburg fields.
Completed repairs on Gazprom gas pipelines in past five years:
| Repairs in Jan-Sept | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 |
| Linear sections, km | 660 | 952.3 | 1264.47 | 1497 | 1696 | 1821 |
| Gas pumping plants, units | 353 | 396 | 544 | 464 | 539 | 568 |
| In-line inspections, '000 km | 18.1 | 15.7 | 18.75 | 17.3 | 16.8 | 16.2 |
The company attributes the new dynamic in repair works to its new approach to repairs.
"In conditions of budget constraints, a transition is being made to planning of work using a new methodology for managing the technical condition and integrity of the infrastructure of the gas transportation system (GTS). This methodology ensures priority selection of facilities for capital repairs on the basis of an analysis of risks and systemic importance, as well as maximum positive effect on the indicators of the integrity of the GTS, and similar targeted planning of selective repairs for lower priority gas pipelines," Gazprom materials state.
