Lukoil plans to start supplying oil from Caspian to transport system in March 2010
MOSCOW. Aug 28 (Interfax) - Lukoil plans to start supplying oil from the Yury Korchagin field in the Caspian Sea to the main transportation system in March 2010, Lukoil Vice President Leonid Fedun told journalists on Friday.
The first well was drilled at the field in December. The total number of wells at the field will grow to 30 by March 2010.
He said that the first well would be drilled at the field in December. Total wells will increase to 30 by March of 2010.
"Starting from March, commercial oil will enter the transport system," he said.
He added that the general cost for developing the Korchagin field comes to $1.3 billion. "This is [the cost] of the whole project for its duration. The project will last 20 years," Fedun said, adding that $450 million had been already spent on the project's development.
At present, the field's ground infrastructure is being prepared for the extraction of oil. The underground oil pipeline is being linked.
Fedun also said that production at the Filanovsky field would start as of 2013. Around 10 million tonnes is planned for extraction at the field. He added that an estimate for the costs of developing the field has not been produced yet.
He said that Lukoil plans to produce 30 million tonnes in hydrocarbon resources a year.
Russia will see stagnation in oil production in the future and then a decline, he said. Lukoil nevertheless remains optimistic about its own production given the planned production in the Caspian and abroad, he said.
Fedun said that stagnation in Russian oil production was currently the result of an almost full suspension in auctions for the development of new sections. The rights for developing offshore fields have been transferred to state companies, he said.
"There will stagnation followed by a drop in oil production throughout Russia," he said.