Gazprom raises gas production plateau at Yuzhno-Kirinskoye; not much oil - source
MOSCOW. Nov 2 (Interfax) - The Yuzhno-Kirinskoye gas and condensate field on the Sakhalin shelf, which will serve as the resource base for expansion of the Sakhalin-2 LNG plant, Russia's sole existing LNG plant, and possibly pipeline gas exports to China, may reach a production plateau of 21 billion cubic meters of gas a year, a source familiar with the technological scheme for developing the field approved by the Central Commission for Reserves last week, told Interfax.
The project to develop Yuzhno-Kirinskoye is targeted by U.S. sanctions.
According to the most recent materials published by Gazprom , Yuzhno-Kirinskoye will produce 16 bcm a year in 2025-2027. Commissioning is scheduled for 2019.
In other words, the plateau has now been raised by 6 bcm a year.
The field consists of 14 blocks. Oil was detected at just three of them. The main gas reserves - about 800 bcm - are located in the center of the field.
Attaining the plateau of 21 bcm a year will require drilling about 40 wells. Climatic conditions on the Sakhalin shelf in the Sea of Okhotsk allow time to drill just two-three wells a year from a single platform. Current plans are to drill up to six wells a year. In other words, reaching the plateau will be possible roughly six-seven years after drilling begins, which is possible in the course of two-three years following the approval of the main technical solutions.
The oil reserves at Yuzhno-Kirinskoye, which are the reason the field is on the U.S. sanctions list, amount to 40 million tonnes and are located at the periphery. However, the oil recovery coefficient is assumed to be just 10%-15%, meaning recoverable reserves amount to just 4 million tonnes.
Gazprom detected oil in drilling the third and fourth wells at the field, the source said. Subsequent wells did not detect any oil.
Under the technological scheme, pilot production of oil will only begin eight-ten years after development of the gas reserves begins, although the timing will depend on economic parameters, notably the price of oil
Gas will be produced at the field using subsea production complexes that are not currently manufactured in Russia. Gazprom is currently working on an import-substitution program for that equipment.
