Gazprom launches Kovykta gas field, Kovykta-Chayanda section of Power of Siberia pipeline
MOSCOW. Dec 21 (Interfax) - Gazprom has started to produce gas at the Kovykta field in the Irkutsk field and put the Kovykta-Chayanda section of the Power of Siberia pipeline into service.
"The key facilities of the Kovykta field are ready for commissioning. The Power of Siberia section from Kovykta to Chayanda is ready for operation. All of the complex's facilities were put into operation strictly on schedule, the key start-up facilities were built in the space of two years. All this has been built in unthinkably challenging climatic conditions and all this has been done at the highest level," Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said at the launch ceremony.
Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the order to launch production at the field. "Start work," he said. "A new Irkutsk gas production center has appeared on the Russian map. We are launching the unique Kovykta gas condensate field, the biggest in Eastern Siberia. Congratulations on this landmark achievement," he said by video-link.
The field is the biggest in Eastern Russia and is unique in terms of its recoverable reserves at 1.8 trillion cubic meters of gas and 65.7 million tonnes of gas condensate. It serves as the foundation for the Irkutsk gas production center and, together with the Chayanda field in Yakutia, as a resource base for the Power of Siberia gas pipeline.
The field has a complex geological structure and topography, which requires best practices and competencies at all stages of development, from drilling production wells to building infrastructure facilities.
The priority field development facilities for full development were built in a short period of time. Production drilling at the Kovykta field began in July 2019. Start-up and commissioning operations under load commenced at one of the top-priority infrastructure facilities, the comprehensive gas treatment unit (CGTU-2) as early as October 2022.
CGTU-2 is one of the key facilities for the development of the Kovyktinskoye field. The unit is designed to clean and dry the gas produced, after which gas prepared to the required parameters is sent to the main gas pipeline. Several more CGTU will be added to bring the field to its design capacity to produce 27 billion cubic meters of gas per year.
The Power of Siberia gas pipeline is the largest gas transportation system in the East of Russia and was built to deliver gas from the Irkutsk and Yakutsk gas production centers to Russian consumers in the eastern regions of the country and for export to China. The trunkline passes through three constituent members of the Russian Federation: the Irkutsk region, Yakutia and the Amur region.
The Power of Siberia pipeline section from the Chayanda field to the city of Blagoveshchensk in the Amur Region, on the border with China, was put into operation in December 2019.
The 804 km Kovykta-Chayanda section was built to supply the Kovykta field's gas into the pipeline.
The launch of the Kovykta field, including CGTU-2 and the Kovykta-Chayanda section, will promote the development of gas supplies to the eastern regions of Russia and the reliable fulfillment of obligations for the supply of Russian gas via the Eastern Route for export to China.
